Beast Morphers: A New Adventure Begins
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: As a revolutionary new technology provides a world on the brink of crisis with the clean, renewable energy it so desperately needs, a brand new team is needed to protect it from those who would use it for themselves.
1. Chapter 1

**LEGAL: **I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, event, characters etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.

**RATING: **T – May be some adult themes, including language and violence.

**A/N: **Well, here it is, the beginning of a brand new universe and time to start with a whole new team of Rangers. Here's hoping you enjoy it.

Somewhere, between dimensions, in a space where everything and nothing exists at the same time, where time and space are meaningless, the endless void and normally endless silence was interrupted by the thundering of a train, speeding through between dimensions. It would be easy enough to dismiss this as being unusual in and of itself, but the train was no ordinary train. The main engine and each of the carriages each carried the visage of prehistoric creatures. This train was in fact more than a mere transport, it was a Zord, one of the legendary fighting machines of the Power Rangers. Though, in this instance it was being used as a way for them to travel between dimensions.

Inside, the RPM Rangers, the defenders of Corinth, were settling in for their journey. It had been some time since they had defeated the forces of Venjix, something which they had all assumed would be the end of their time as Rangers. Unfortunately for them, they still had a few loose ends to tie up.

"There we go, that sorted oot that wee bug in the system." Flynn said as he closed up one of the panels. "How's the static looking pet?"

"That cleared up the snow on the monitor." Gemma replied with a sweet little smile. "The signal's now clear as a bell. Professor Cog's trail is now nice and clear. We should be through in no time. All going well this should be a pretty simple job." Scott reminded him. "Dr K said this dimension has its own team of Rangers, so we should be able to bring down Professor Cog and be back in time for the Evening News."

Scott pulled out his morpher.

"OK, we should be breaking through any minute. Remember what Dr K said, we should remain morphed until we can do a scan of the environment see if this dimension is survivable to us." Scott reminded them. They all pulled out their morphers and put in their Engine Cells. "RPM, GET IN GEAR…WHOA!"

There was a sudden surge of sparks from his morpher which arced out into the train itself, setting off several alarms, before dissipating. Scott did fully morph, but the jolt shook the entire train, something none of them could fail to notice.

"Whoa, what the hell was that?" Summer asked.

"Is everyone OK?" Scott asked. They all just nodded as they straightened themselves out. "Flynn, any idea what that was?"

"It…looks like some kind of rogue program." Flynn told him. "It looks like there was something in your morpher but…there's no sign of it now."

"There's nothing in the program." Gem confirmed. "It must have been destroyed by our firewall."

"Alright, just as long as everyone's OK." Scott said, breathing a sigh of relief. "If a little turbulence getting there is the worst thing that happens, I'll consider this a pretty successful trip."

At that moment, in another dimension, a young boy was working on a computer. He looked like a pretty unremarkable kid. Quite small for his age, skinny and with high-grade prescription glasses, but otherwise he would look on the surface to be a normal six-year-old kid. Of course if anyone was watching what he was doing on the computer, they'd see that he was anything but an ordinary six-year old.

"How's that physics homework coming, Nathaniel?" The boy's father asked proudly, coming to look over his shoulder.

"Dad, I finished that hours ago!" He chuckled. "It was way too easy!"

"Oh, too easy is it? You want me to challenge you a little more?" He asked his son.

"Dad, it's kid's stuff. Why can't I help you and mom with your work?" The boy asked.

"Look, nothing would make me happier, really it wouldn't, but you know how long and hard we work." The man told his son. "Maybe when you're a bit older?"

The man caught a look at the project the boy was working on. He furrowed his brows.

"What's this then?" He asked him.

"Oh, it's…it's nothing, just a little something for fun and…"

"Here, let me see." His dad said, scooching in to take a closer look. He smiled a little when he saw what he was doing. Nathaniel Silva was exceptional. He was beyond exceptional, the kind of intellect that only came along once or twice in a generation. It was something that unfortunately alienated him from a lot of people, most of the kids his age were still colouring in or playing with Lego, but he was already working on post-graduate level science as a pastime. His parents did try to give him as close to normal an upbringing as possible, and that included some bedtime stories. "Now this, this is interesting."

"Dad, I know it's silly…"

"No! I think it's great!" His dad told him. "Kids your age should be exercising their imagination. This is…well, it's nice to see you liking things like this."

"Dad, I know they're just stories." Nate sighed. "But I really thought this would be a great Zord!"

"And I'm sure the Rangers would have been proud and grateful to have it!" His dad congratulated him. "But, its not your fault they dealt with Master Org years ago, it was before you were even born."

"I know." Nate sighed. "So you really like it?"

"I love it!" His dad told him. "Now, how about you shut off your computer and I'll read you another…"

Just then, there was a spark from his computer and the screen flickered. Dr Silva snatched his son away from the screen, worried in case there was an electrical fault.

"Dad, what was that?" Nathaniel asked him.

"I…I don't know son." He said as the screen suddenly went back to normal. He cautiously approached the keyboard, touching it with a wooden ruler to ensure there was no charge still waiting, before trying it with his hand. Since he didn't get a shock, he quickly tried a few keys, but the computer seemed to be working fine now. "I…guess maybe it could just do with a rest."

"But I've not finished…"

"You can do some more work on it tomorrow." His father promised him, turning off the computer. "In the meantime, how about I pick up a book for tonight? Which one would you like tonight?"

"TIME FORCE!" Nate chirped up enthusiastically. His dad just sighed.

"Again?" He asked. "Alright, whatever you say."

As he went out to go and collect a book to read to his son, Nathaniel went to go and get his pyjamas. As he did so though, he noticed a strange, green glow coming from his computer. He checked to make sure his dad wasn't coming back, before approaching. Running his hand along the side of the computer, he found his fingers touching a viscous, green, glowing fluid.

"Eww!" He exclaimed, before noticing something odd. The power light on his computer was still on. He was sure his dad switched it off. He checked and saw he had even unplugged the computer. So how was it still powered? Looking around for a container. He found a sample jar from his chemistry set and scraped some of the substance into it. "Phenomenal!"

Six months later!

There was a throng of people gathered around a large office complex in the city of Coral Harbour. The media were clamouring to get a look in at what was happening, and speculation was rife. Nothing had been released to the press, not even the usual leaks. Whatever was happening here today was secretive beyond the normal levels, but the security around the building, not to mention the names that were rumoured to be in attendance were already causing a lot of speculation.

"With the world's press still none the wiser, this extremely hush hush meeting being held right here in Coral Harbour is perhaps one of the most speculated upon secrets in the world today." One of the reporters said into a microphone as he addressed the camera. "So far our sources haven't been able to bring us anything, even a confirmed guest list, but the faces that have been seen here today have everyone guessing. So far we've seen business leaders, military officers and world leaders, none of whom have made any mention of even coming here have been arriving under security that can only be described as tight. Wait…what's that…? OK, we have to move, NOW! I've just heard word that the Presidential Limousine has just been spotted coming in! We're going to see if we can grab a word…come on, move your ass!"

The reporter's efforts to get this scoop seemed to be so desperate he didn't even seem to notice or care that he had sworn on a prime-time broadcast, apparently unconcerned with the consequences of a fine or reprimand in the course of getting a scoop. The limousine pulled up and Secret Service staff held the door open as the President stepped out of the vehicle.

"President Grayson! President Grayson! Here, over here!" The reporter called out as the President waved to the crowd, even stopping to allow for a few photographs. He was being ushered away, but he signalled his security to hold up while he approached the reporter. "He's coming over…Mr President! Gregory Dover, Channel Seven News, thank you for stopping."

"Of course, I'm willing to spare a few words for the network, I'm a huge fan." He told him with a smile.

"President Grayson, can you tell us anything about what is going on here today?" The reporter asked him.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal, you can call me Carter. I'm afraid that as yet that I'm a little sketchy on the details myself." He replied.

"Mr President…Carter…we've seen a number of prominent figures, including Heads of State from nations that not so long ago our country was at war with." The reporter continued. "Please, we're just dying to know…"

"And as soon as I know something, I can assure you that you'll be the first one to get an interview as soon as the information is clear for release." Carter assured him. "In the meantime, all I can say right now is that I am very excited, and if all goes well, there should be some very exciting times ahead for the world."

As he walked away, the reporter turned back to the camera.

"Well, there you have it, more questions than answers, as it seems even the President hasn't yet been fully briefed on what is happening here today." Gregory stated. "We will of course be maintaining coverage and hope that someone can tell us something from this extremely mysterious gathering sometime soon. This is Gregory Dover, Channel Seven News."

Inside the building, the delegates were all gathering. It was a rather mixed bag of invited guests to say the least. Key figures in the fuel and energy industries, Armed Forces, business and political world were all gathered though at the moment most only had very scant details over why they were summoned. In a room, pacing nervously and crunching down some indigestion tablets, Dr Silva was pacing intently as he ran through his speech over and over again, trying to get it down.

"Peter, you really need to calm down." His wife told him.

"Calm down?" He asked her. "Mary, I'm only minutes away from addressing some of the richest and most powerful people in the world about the greatest breakthrough in science since the invention of fire! Calm is about a million miles from what I'm feeling right now!"

"Peter, getting yourself worked up like this really isn't going to help matters." She reminded him. "Just remember what we said, breathe, take your time and let the work speak for itself."

"I've never been good at this kind of thing. You know I'm happier in the lab than in front of audiences." He said, loosening his tie a little and mopping his forehead. "Look at this, look! The A/C is cranked up to the max and I'm still sweating!"

"Peter, I know you're nervous…"

"Mary, I'm well aware of how important this is." Peter told her. "Our work is…world-changing doesn't even come close to covering it. But if we don't get funding, if we don't get these people on board, then everything we've been working for will be for nothing."

"Peter, I believe in you." She told him, straightening out his tie. Just then, the door opened. "Alright, that's your cue."

"OK." He said, taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

Peter left the room and headed down a hall towards the main presentation area where someone was going through some introductory materials and preparing the crowd. Peter took one last deep breath as his name was read out. He walked out onto the stage to a polite applause, but as he approached the podium, he tripped a little, stumbling into it. He got a few laughs as he stumbled into the podium, using it to maintain his balance.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous." Peter said, shuffling his notes and preparing to begin. He looked to it, but his vision started to blur, and the words moved around on the page. It looked alien, completely illegible to him. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. There were already murmurs from the crowd, no doubt wondering if they could take this clumsy, nervy nobody seriously. He mopped his brow, took a sip of water and tried to remember how he intended to begin.

"Esteemed colleagues. Ladies, Gentlemen…I come before you today with something that I believe will, without a word of exaggeration, change the world." He began. "Among your number here today, you may notice some of the most powerful and influential people in the fuel and energy industry today, from all corners of the globe. They are the people who have been heating our homes, powering our hospitals, driving our industry now for almost two centuries, which is why I hope that they will see the value in what I bring you today."

Peter stepped out from behind the podium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the world is at a crisis point, one that I think many of us have feared, but none of us have imagined for some time now." Peter continued. "The world's climate is changing at an alarming rate, with extreme weather patterns breaking records every other week of the year over the last few decades."

He heard some murmurs, even some laughter and boos, but there were equally signs of support.

"I see in the audience today, many people who have become very wealthy from the production of traditional fossil fuels, and while I understand the reluctance to change, I have to say, there's something I think those of you who are honest can attest." He said, before steeling himself for the next part. "Production has slowed immensely. It is getting harder and harder to find new sources. The production of fossil fuels has been yielding smaller and smaller volumes for years, which has led to an excessive demand with the supply diminishing. There is one simple reason for that. Ladies and Gentlemen…your wells are running dry."

This caused an uproar. People were almost leaping out their seats to object to him.

"We've heard this nonsense before!" Someone yelled at him.

"You've heard it before, but now more than ever it is clear that we can no longer ignore this crisis!" Peter protested as people took to jeering him, some even throwing things onto the stage. They'd all heard the proponents of alternative energy saying these things for many years. "Demand is higher than ever, but yields are going down because quite simply the fuel is running out! That is why I invited representatives of the Armed Forces here today! Desperation has set in. Virtually every war with very few exceptions over the last thirty years can be traced directly back to oil, and it is for once simple reason. We do…not…have…ENOUGH!"

There was a call for order as the room was threatening to descend into a full-blown lynch mob. Peter composed himself as he looked at a lot of angry faces, but he saw just enough interested ones to make him believe he could still reach the audience. He went to a table that had been set up and pulled off a sheet, exposing some equipment, along with some vials of a glowing, green substance. There was some apparatus set up with a small vial in it the size of a AAA battery. He held up a canister, showing it to the audience.

"The problem with alternative energy is not that it doesn't work, but that it has been under developed. The time to act is now, NOT because that's when we should have acted, but because it's been left until the point where we have no choice. The time to act was in the late 1800's when the very first fossil fuels were being taken from the Earth, but those that were doing so thought it was more cost-effective not to seek an alternative and knew they were never going to be around long enough to see the day an alternative was needed. Well a few generations of that thinking has led to now when that day is now, and I provide you with that alternative today! BEHOLD!"

He held the canister above his head.

"I give you the future of clean-running, almost infinite energy, and I invite you here as the most influential people in the world to be on the ground floor of the greatest development in energy since the discovery of crude oil here today." Peter stated. "I call it…Morph-X."

There was a deathly silence in the audience, before the room was filled with raucous laughter.

"We've heard it before!" Someone called out.

"Peddle your snake-oil somewhere else!" Someone else mocked him. Peter was incensed.

"I'm telling you, it…it works!" Peter assured them. "Morph-X provides far more efficient energy than fossil fuels by a factor of…"

"What is this shit?" Someone yelled. "Where does it come from?"

"We've developed a technology that reaches into the Morphing Grid and distils its power into a chemical formula!" He declared. By now the laughter was so loud it was more like a comedy club than a scientific presentation, but President Grayson's interest was piqued. A few others were interested too, but for him it held a personal connection. There was a time he was a Power Ranger. He knew through personal experience the power of the Grid.

"The Morphing Grid? You mean like that thing the Power Rangers used?" Someone asked. "There hasn't been a team of Power Rangers in almost twenty years!"

"The Morphing Grid is…"

"We've got no idea if it even still exists! This is a waste of our time!" Someone complained. "This man's a fraud!"

"My son's work is NOT a fraud!" He called out.

"Your son's? Your son made this?" Someone asked. "What age is he?"

"Well…he's six…"

This was all most of the audience needed to hear. They all started to get out of their seats, not even bothering to let Peter finish, making no attempt to hide their contempt. Peter leant against the podium and put his face in his hands. He was far from the first scientist to propose something world-changing who had met a hostile reception but now, it all seemed hopeless. When he looked up, out of the thousands of delegates, there were only about ten left.

"I'm…I'm sorry." He sighed. "Please, I'll show myself…"

"No, wait." President Carter told him. "Is that…really from the Morphing Grid?"

"My son found it…don't ask me how." Peter stated. "It was extremely serendipitous."

"Serendipitous? You mean like luck?" Someone asked. He was a large man in a military uniform, with a female officer sitting next to him.

"Well, yes and no." Peter told him. "Luck is just finding something by chance. Serendipity is when something is found by chance, but the person finding it has the knowledge and experience to figure out what they've discovered."

"And your son is six years old?" Carter asked.

"Yes…he's quite brilliant." Peter said with a proud smile.

"Can…can you bring him up here?" Carter asked. Peter was a little taken aback. He'd deliberately not told anyone it was his son that discovered Morph-X for exactly this reason. He doubted anyone would take it seriously if one of the greatest discoveries in science was found by a kid that by all rights shouldn't even be in elementary school. He gestured to his wife to bring out Nathaniel, who came onto the stage nervously. The small crowd smiled at him warmly.

"So, you found this?" One of the men asked. It was Arthur Winchester, one of the wealthiest oil CEO's in the nation. His family had been involved in the industry almost since the first drill went into the ground. His family's fortunes revolved around the industry, but ever since he'd taken the reins of the family business, he'd noticed that the returns were diminishing with every passing year. He didn't want to let on that it worried him to think that wells were running dry, but the fact was, knowing that his business relied on energy, he did worry what would happen when there was no more oil. If there was a possible alternative, no matter how strange it sounded to him, he wanted to at least hear about it. Nathaniel just nodded. "So, how does it work?"

"Well…we can process the energy from the Morphing Grid." Nathaniel explained. "Morph-X as a chemical is full of clean-running energy with entirely benign by-products."

"So, how much energy does it provide?" Another CEO asked. This was Catherine Sears, another of the older oil families, that had noticed the fields were bringing in less and less as time went by. Nathaniel struggled to find a way to say what he wanted to, before he noticed the apparatus set up. He went to it, reaching for the vial that was no bigger than a AA battery and pulled it out. As soon as he did, every light in the entire building went dark.

As he replaced it, everyone was astonished. Carter leant forward in his seat.

"Are you telling me, THAT little vial is powering the whole building?" He asked. The entire complex was larger than the Empire State Building. Nathaniel just nodded. "Nate…can I call you that?"

"Nate?" Nathaniel asked, thinking about it for a moment. He just nodded. "I like that!"

"Nate, how long does a vial like that last?" Carter asked him.

"It depends on what it's powering." Nate told him, at which the remaining guests started to look around each other. There were five Energy CEO's, a General, another military officer, Carter, and three scientists all connected to the Government remaining. "A building this size…?"

He took out a calculator and did some sums.

"Approximately 672 years." He said matter-of-factly. "The entire city? Probably closer to about 73?"

"Come again?" Carter asked. "Is…is he serious?"

"My son is never wrong when it comes to maths." His dad said proudly. Carter gestured the other guests in, talking with them briefly.

Peter bent down, scooping his son up in his arms.

"Dad…"

"You did your best." He whispered to him. "I'm so proud of you."

"Dr Silva?" Mr Winchester called over, interrupting the moment between father and son. "I've discussed it with my colleagues here…I just have one question."

He smiled as he shifted forward in his seat.

"How much would you like?"


	2. The Recruits Arrive

Ten Years Later

The city of Coral Harbour was an attractive city for many reasons. Under the leadership of the highly popular and innovative Mayor Daniels, the city had grown to not only be prosperous, but also a beautiful and appealing place to live. Being a man who had worked his way up to the halls of power from nothing, Mayor Daniels was not just seeking to keep the business leaders happy but truly did appreciate the contributions and the trials of the working people and had gone to great lengths to ensure that everyone in the city, from the movers and shakers right down to the people that kept the wheels of the city turning had a neighbourhood to live in that they could really be proud of.

Under the surface, there was another major development coming, one that was going to be formally announced any time within the next few months. Ever since that summit, Morph-X had been developed and was well on its way to becoming not just a viable option, but outright replacing the fossil fuels which were in major decline as more and more companies found their reserves starting to run dry. Although it would be some time before the world as a whole would accept Morph-X in place of the traditional solutions to the world's energy crisis, as the spiritual home of the development, being the site of the summit, Coral Harbour was selected to be the testing ground as it were for the new wave, letting other cities see what it could do for them before rolling it out wholesale. There were still major detractors, but on the whole, there was a wave of excitement in the city which would soon become the possible model of the future.

The five families that invested in the development of Morph-X technology were seeing what was considered a gamble paying off big time. If Coral Harbour took off, then they would be on the ground floor of the brand-new foundation of the energy industry. Everything required energy, whether it was homes, hospitals, vehicles or businesses, and as such, those five families stood on the precipice of being at the helm of the very foundation of the entire economy. They'd ploughed immense sums of money into the scheme, but it was coming close to finally paying off. Towers were being built to store Morph-X when it started being pumped right out of the Morphing Grid, and most notably of all, a brand-new organisation was being founded to oversee not only the production and refinement of Morph-X, but also the defence of it, Grid Battleforce.

The public at large knew soundbites from press releases, but were still largely ignorant as to the exact nature of the whole organisation. Applicants went through an intensive and extremely rigorous security check for even the most mundane positions. In his office, General Burke was looking over some files when his immediate subordinate, and the woman chosen to head up the most important day-to-day functions of Grid Battleforce, Commander Shaw, walked in. She saluted as she came in, but he didn't look up from his paperwork, just waving in an off-hand way, before gesturing to a chair.

"You know, by this point in my career I thought I'd be seeing less work, not more." He grumbled. "I swear, I served seven tours in my career and I think I'd rather face an active conflict zone than…than…red tape! Wouldn't you agree?" He swore loudly as he pressed down on a stapler, but got his finger.

"Stapling my fingers or getting shot at. Tough choice." She replied sarcastically. General Burke just took a tablet from her. "I've got the latest round of applications narrowed down. These are all the candidates that have passed all the basic background, fitness and aptitude tests."

"So, somewhere in here are our three superheroes eh?" He asked, giving the names a cursory glance. "Wait…this name…are you sure?"

He gave her a knowing smirk. Commander Shaw just shuffled a little uncomfortably.

"I presume you mean my son." She stated. "I think you'll find he matches and exceeds all the criteria…"

"Oh, I have absolutely no doubt he does. Little Ravi all grown up eh?" He asked. "I can still remember when he used to play with my Ben and Betty in the crèche."

"Which is why I'm sure you're delighted to know that they've also qualified." She told him.

"Outstanding!" He declared bombastically. "Can you just imagine if they ended up being our Rangers? My kids and your son?"

Commander Shaw just forced a smile as the thought did indeed run through her head. She liked Ben and Betty; she really did. Everyone liked them, but when it came to their performance…their enthusiasm often exceeded their abilities. She dreaded to imagine the thought of Ben and Betty with live weaponry, much less when her son's life might depend on them. She just nodded.

"It would be…quite something." She agreed. "The acceptances have already been sent out. By the time the Morph-X towers are in full production, they should have their very own Rangers to defend them."

"Then get cracking! I want to have our Rangers ready to present to the public as soon as possible!" He told her. "I want you to head up the Ranger division personally."

"Me?" She asked. "But…sir, my son is in that field. I am duty bound to point out that could be seen as a conflict of interests."

"Yes, it most certainly could." He agreed, stroking his chin. "If it was anyone else, I'd be concerned. But I know you well enough to know you'd never expect anything less of your son than you would of anyone that might have his life in his, or her, hands. I trust you'll find the right candidates."

"I appreciate your faith sir." She said, saluting. "I won't let you down."

With that, she turned and headed out of the office. She'd kind of hoped to get the assignment, she had been working her way up the ladder for many years, and being the official head of the Ranger Division would no doubt be a career highlight for her. Unfortunately, there was one thing she was also keenly aware of. Since she would be overseeing the project, there would be no way to avoid people taking notice of the fact her son was one of the candidates. Even though she would never show him any favouritism, since she knew first-hand how vital it was in a combat situation that everyone on a team was the very best candidate for the job, that wouldn't stop people from naturally questioning his inclusion. The only thing she could do was ensure that her manner was beyond reproach and that she was clear that her son was getting no special leeway with his assessments from her. She only hoped he'd understand if that meant she had to come down harder on him than some of the others.

A couple of weeks later, the official launch of the Ranger Programme was beginning, and the candidates were to report to Grid Battleforce for training and the assessment process. All of the potential candidates had already been put through extremely stringent entry tests, but after narrowing the field to 500 candidates, they were going to take six months to pick only three.

Candidates were arriving steadily, many being dropped off by their families since they would likely not get much time to see them during the selection process, during which they were assured they would be monitored at all times for any behaviour deemed unbecoming of a Ranger. One candidate arrived, stepping off a city bus, struggling with her bags as she stumbled off the last couple of steps and looked up at the base before her and smiled.

Zoey Reeves was a dreamer, but more than just a dreamer, she was the kind of person who would always chase her dreams. Some people were happy to sit and dream, but for her, she had learned early on that dreams didn't just come true for people in her world. If she wanted things to happen, she needed to make them happen!

While her family wasn't exactly poor and she never wanted for clean clothes or decent food growing up, they were no more able to afford to send her to college than they were to buy her a mansion on Mars! Her mom was Muriel Reeves, a reporter with a local news station, but while she was regularly on the television, she had yet to find that one "big break" story that would propel her into the big time. Most of the time she was consigned so soft news and celebrity tittle-tattle, which while it had an audience certainly wasn't going to get her an anchor's pay packet any time soon. Zoey had big dreams and ambitions, but life taught her early on that if she wanted them, she would have to work for them. She'd worked part-time since she was fourteen and was working full-time since sixteen. It took a whole extra year to graduate High School as a result, but in the end, she'd done it.

She'd applied for literally every grant and scholarship in existence, but even with how hard she worked, her grades were just slightly shy of what they were looking for and it was pretty hard to have an impressive list of extra-curricular activities when she had to find a way to fit forty hours of work a week in and around a full school schedule. She'd eventually looked to signing up to the military as a way to have her college diploma funded, but a strange thing she'd never heard of called Grid Battleforce was recommended to her. She didn't even know what the hell the 'Ranger Initiative' was at first, but when she heard word of a Special Forces unit equipped with high-tech weaponry light-years beyond the current generation, her goal was set. She would be a Ranger! Whatever the hell that was.

"Sorry!" She called out as someone rushed past her, almost knocking her down in their hurry to get into the building. She started to head in towards the building, completely in awe of what she was seeing. The Grid Battleforce headquarters was a million miles from the apartment building her mom could afford, and one of the benefits of the training was that for a while at least she would get accommodation on site. The sparkling glass and glittering floors were like some kind of museum or monument to her. She was almost at the door when she heard a roar of an engine and had to quickly double-step away as a motorcycle roared past her, skidding to a halt just outside the door. The rider pulled off his helmet and set up the bike on the kickstand, before snapping his fingers and gesturing to one of the staff.

"You, yeah, you, get over here!" He said, waving the guy over. He handed the employee his helmet and the keys to his motorcycle like he was handing over a cheap toy. He slipped some money into the guy's pocket. "Go park this somewhere out of the sun OK kid? Thanks!"

Zoey was so incensed as he walked away, apparently completely unaware that he had almost run her over that she couldn't even bring herself to say anything. He cruised through the front door where a guy was walking past with a stack of paperwork. He walked past, slapping the papers out of his hands.

"Think fast four-eyes!" He laughed as he walked past. Zoey just rolled her eyes as she headed inside, dumping her bags and starting to gather up the paperwork.

"ASSHOLE!" The other employee yelled, flipping the guy off behind his back as he walked away. He shook his head as he knelt down, finding someone already gathering the paperwork. "You don't need to do…"

His words tailed off as he looked up and saw her face. To say that Nate had led a sheltered life was an understatement. Ever since his discovery of Morph-X, he had worked to make its production a reality. His parents were now primarily focused on trying to get foreign interests started in it, leaving him in the de facto care of Grid Battleforce. Most people who weren't scientifically minded or pay much attention to the research publications really didn't know who Nate was. If they did, the guy that walked past him might have realised he'd just inadvertently targeted the man building most of the technology that would shape the world. Still, what it did mean was that Nate didn't really get to see much outside of Grid Battleforce.

The girl before him was one of the most incredible things he'd ever seen. He understood attraction, he'd heard all about it in stories and he'd studied the scientific nature of biological urges, but the girl before him just completely took his breath away.

"It's OK, that guy's a jerk." She responded, not even looking up at him as she gathered up the papers. "He almost turned me into a skid mark just before he did this."

"Uh…huh." Nate said in a slightly dreamy voice.

"Aw, shit, you've got to be kidding me!" She complained. Nate just looked at her confused. She gestured behind him. "He's at the sign-in desk. He's a cadet too?"

"Yeah, it looks like it." Nate responded in a despondent sigh. "Wait…too? You mean…you're here for the Ranger program?"

"Yeah, I am." She replied, finishing gathering up the papers and standing up. "But if that guy ends up in my team, I'm not so sure there won't be a friendly fire incident."

Nate started laughing uncontrollably. He only stopped when he saw the expression on her face, one that made him stop almost immediately. He had met girls before, but this was something new to him. The notion of instant attraction, even "love at first sight" seemed incredibly unlikely to him, but the way his brain just seemed to completely short-circuit with her made him start to reconsider his stance on that. He was now worrying she thought he was either a complete idiot or a lunatic.

"Yeah…funny." She said nervously. She extended a hand. "I'm Zoey!"

"Nate." He replied, shaking her hand enthusiastically.

"Nice to meet you Nate." She replied. "Um…I'm going to need that hand back now."

"I'm sorry?"

"My hand." She told him. "I need it to sign in."

"Oh…OH of course!" He responded as he released her, beginning to wonder when exactly his brain had turned into porridge.

"So…you work in the lab here?" She asked, noting his lab coat. Nate just smiled and nodded.

"You…could say that." He responded. He decided that now when she was probably wondering if he was even a remotely functioning human being was probably not the best time to tell her he was responsible for pretty much the whole thing.

"Then I guess I'll see you around." She replied.

"I think that's a safe bet." Nate replied.

"OK, I need to sign in." She told him. "I'll see you around Nate."

"Yeah, you will!" He called out as he waved her off, dropping his paperwork again. He just slapped himself in the forehead, thankful that she was already heading to the sign in desk and hadn't seen that.

Zoey went to the sign in desk, waiting in the queue for her turn. When she got to the front, she handed over her acceptance letter.

"Zoey Reeves." She greeted the desk attendant. The man looked through some envelopes, finding one with her name on it and handed it over.

"Alright, inside you'll find your code of conduct, your schedule, a map of the complex and the key to your dormitory." He told her.

"G14." She read aloud.

"That's ground floor, you're heading down that hall and keep to the right." He told her.

"Wait, did you say G14?" She heard someone behind her say. Zoey turned around to see another girl standing behind her.

"Yeah?" She asked tentatively.

"I guess that makes us roomies!" The other girl declared. "Here, let me help you with those!"

"I'm fine…"

"No, don't be silly, I've already moved in, I was just coming to see if I could figure out where the canteen is." She replied. "I'm Roxy by the way."

"Zoey." Zoey introduced herself. "Well, I'm glad that the number of people I've met here that are nice is double the number of assholes so far."

"Oh, right, I saw that." She sighed, looking to where the other guy was busy talking with some people, looking like he was directing his own legion of servants. "Yeah, Blaze has always been…something. Not entirely sure what he is, but definitely something."

"Oh, I could come up with a few names for him." Zoey muttered.

"Come on." Roxy told her, waving her on. "The dorm's just this way."

Roxy hefted one of Zoey's bags onto her shoulder and started to sway a little.

"Whoa, geez, you don't believe in packing light, do you?" Roxy asked her. "You know they provide us with uniforms, right?"

"Yeah, but…we're not going to be on duty all the time, right?" Zoey asked her. "Besides, I'm not planning on going home too often. I just want to get my head down and focus on this."

"Please don't tell me you're one of those driven, serious types that's too uptight to go out and have a little fun." Roxy responded. Zoey considered how to respond. The fact was that she wanted to save a little on travelling expenses. Even staying on the base, a travel pass would be a significant expense if she wanted to take more than a couple of trips back home a month.

"No, but…I've not really been away from home before." Zoey told her, which was semi-true…even if the reason was not being able to afford moving out of her mom's place. "This is the closest I've got to living on campus."

"Well, the base isn't too bad. There's some decent facilities and Riptide is only a short walk away." Roxy told her.

"Riptide?" Zoey asked her.

"Yeah, the local gym and juice place! I take some karate classes there. You should come some time." Roxy invited her as they headed down the corridor. "And hey, there's some appealing features in this place."

"Is that…is that an ice-cream machine?" Zoey asked as she saw Roxy pointing to a vending machine.

"It sure is. It doesn't even take cash." She told her.

"There's a free ice-cream vending machine on a military base?" Zoey asked, before shaking her head. "I was not expecting that."

"I can personally recommend the lemon." Roxy told her. "Come on, let's get this stuff put away. If we move, we can get good seats for induction."

Meanwhile, Nate was wandering the corridor, muttering to himself as he tried to re-organise his paperwork back into the order, he wanted it. He was grateful to Zoey for helping him pick it up, but it was now completely out of order and he wanted to get it back to the way it was. He almost walked into Commander Shaw as he concentrated more on the papers than where he was going.

"Nate, there you are, I was just looking for you." She stated. "Do you have the latest reports?"

"I'll get them to you as soon as I collate them properly." Nate complained. "I had a run-in with one of the recruits and they got messed up."

"Really?" She asked. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that there's one recruit I wouldn't trust with an unloaded cap pistol never mind multi-million-dollar weaponry." Nate grumbled. "Blaze!"

"Blaze?" She sighed, looking down and shaking her head. "For the love of God, please tell me you didn't cut him."

"No, no, General Burke made it VERY clear that selections are your call, not mine." Nate muttered. "But he's an obnoxious…do we really have to have him here?"

"Nate, you almost walked into me. Are you sure you didn't just…maybe…bump into him by mistake?" She asked.

"No, I most certainly did not!" He whined, before seeing her put her face in her hands. "Wait…are you making excuses for him?"

"Nate, you know I want your input but there's a little…we need to…Blaze…" She started to stammer. "Look, if he's really unsuitable we can get rid of him in the third or fourth round of cuts."

"Well, why not now?" Nate asked her.

"Nate, there's something…there are other factors at work here." She told him.

"What other factors?" Nate asked. "Why can't we get rid of him if he's…"

"Because it's Blaze Winchester." She told him. Nate's face fell.

"Winchester?" He asked. "As in…?"

"As in his father is shortly going to own approximately thirty percent of the planet's entire energy industry." She told him. "Including the building you're standing in and everything you're working with. We have to give his son a…certain leeway."

"So, we just ignore…"

"No, if he's unsuitable then he will be cut." She assured him. "My son may well be on that team, and if I have any reason to believe Blaze will put any team we put together at risk, then I will personally sign his discharge forms, but we have to at least make the appearance of…"

"In other words, he gets preferential treatment." Nate grumbled.

"I don't think you're in much of a position to talk about preferential treatment." She replied, taking the papers from him. "I've never worked in any other base that needed to put in an ice-cream machine within walking distance of the lab. I'll collate these, you just go to the lab."

"But…"

"Go to the lab! Do…whatever it is you do in there when you're in a mood that calms you down." She responded, before walking away. Nate just watched her go, before furrowing his brows.

"Who doesn't like ice-cream?" He asked, before shrugging and heading back to his lab.


	3. Induction

Some hours earlier.

The alarm clock went off in his room, and his hand came down on it almost instantly. Even though the time was 4:30, Ravi had been waking up at this time for so long now that instinctively he was already awake before his alarm clock went off. He was out of his bed and already starting to make it so quickly that before 4:35 it would have been impossible for anyone to tell anyone had even slept in the bed without subjecting it to forensic tests.

Some people were described as disciplined, but to Ravi Shaw, discipline wasn't just a word. It wasn't even a thought; it was practically an obsession. His room and his possessions were always pristine and had been since he was a little boy. In his room, there were no posters of rock stars or movies, there were coloured schedules for what he was due to be doing and when, his week planned out to the minute. There was no television or video games console, but there was a computer desk set up, along with a bookcase full of reference books. There was nothing to indicate this room was anything other than a standard dorm room waiting on a new recruit, despite the fact he'd now been living on the site for months.

He went to his cupboard, looking out a tracksuit and putting it on, throwing his pyjamas into the laundry bin in the corner of his room, before checking which of the six routes he was scheduled to run today. He only allowed himself one rest day from his morning run, other than that it was ten miles before breakfast every day without fail except for that one time he'd needed to get his appendix out, and even then he'd probably have gone if the doctor would have agreed to unhook his drip to let him out of bed.

Ravi was driven, always in constant competition. With the world, with his family legacy, but most of all with himself. His family had been a military family for generations, long before the first of his ancestors set foot on American soil. One of his ancestors had immigrated to the United States and signed up almost the minute they arrived, even changing the family name to Shaw in order to sound more American, but even in those generations they had a long, proud and storied history in the Armed Forces. There had been a Shaw in at least one branch of the Armed Forces now for well over a century, and Ravi had no intention of being the one to break that tradition.

He didn't just want to live up to his family though, he wanted to make his own legend, so deserve his own pages in the annals of the Shaw family history. His most constant opponent in all of this was himself. He was always looking for perfection in every aspect of his life. When he'd graduated High School, he wanted to go back and do another year even though he had a 98% GPA across the board just because to him being anything less than 100 was a failure. It was only the insistence of his recruitment officer that stopped him going back to get those two extra points.

He excelled in virtually everything he did. Weapons training, Martial Arts, physical fitness, rules and regulations, history, sciences…people unironically called him "Robotic Ravi" because he was almost never seen switching off. He was always doing something to improve. When he had heard of the Ranger Initiative, he had signed up right away. His family had done pretty much everything in the Armed Forces, one of them had even been to the International Space Station, and so the only thing that was left was to become a Ranger. Of course, Ravi was also a perfectionist even in that. It had been almost twenty years since there had been a Ranger team on Earth, and so many his age had only heard of them as stories, but he was well-versed in history and already knew exactly what he was in for and had even set his sights on his goal. He didn't just want to be a Ranger, he wanted to be the Red Ranger! The leader, just like one of his idols, former President Carter Grayson had been.

After his run, he got showered and dressed, having his breakfast in his room while he brushed up on his required reading for the programme. He had already read everything cover-to-cover about six times, but to him, there was never a moment to be wasted. If he wanted to be a Ranger, he wanted more than anything to be the best possible Ranger and to lead by example. Other people could do what they wanted, it never bothered him when people talked about movies he had never heard of or laughed at him because he had no idea what the difference was between a Pokemon and a Digimon. That was what they wanted.

Hours later, he was the first in line at the sign-in desk for the Ranger program. The man at the desk wasn't even looking at him as he stepped up to the desk.

"Name?" The man asked. Ravi didn't say it out loud, instead shoving his acceptance letter over to the man. "I said name!"

Ravi just shoved the letter forward a little further. The man let out a sigh of exasperation, before looking to the letter. He read it, before going to the file next to him to find his induction pack.

"In here, you'll find your code of conduct, your dorm assignment a map of the complex…and who knows, maybe your voice." The man said sarcastically. Ravi just took the induction pack from him before wandering off. He didn't really need anything in it, he had been studying the code of conduct for weeks now, he'd been staying on the base long enough to know everywhere he had clearance to go like the back of his hand and he already had his dorm. He didn't appreciate the crack about his voice, but there was a reason he was trying not to say his name out loud. His mom had already warned him she was heading up the Ranger Initiative. Although he knew that far from being an advantage, if anything his mom would come down harder on him than anyone for any slip in performance, it was only human nature for people to cast aspersions, particularly when the cuts began. He had already resolved to do what he had done with everything else in his life, he'd just get scores so high they were beyond reproach so no one would question whether he deserved his position.

He was just turning around when he bumped into someone. She backed away from him a little quickly.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't…I wasn't paying attention…WOW, you are solid! Like walking into a wall or something!" The young woman before him said as she looked up to him.

"It's OK, the lobby is getting pretty crowded." Ravi told her. "Just try to pay more attention, people could be walking around with weapons soon enough."

"Say, do you…uh…" She pulled out a map and started looking at it. "I'm trying to find my dorm block; would you mind showing me how this map works? I can't make it out."

Ravi just stood beside her, and turned her so her back was to the door, before turning the map.

"The door is there, so this is the map the same orientation as the building." He told her. "So, your dorm is…just up that way. Up that corridor."

"Thanks." She replied as he started to make his way. "Say, uh…I didn't catch your name!"

"Ravi." He told her, biting his tongue so that he didn't also say his surname.

"Ravi huh?" She asked. "Is that short for anything?"

"No, just…just Ravi." He told her.

"Well, I'm Roxy." She said, introducing herself to him. Ravi was a little hesitant at first, pretty soon he'd be competing with her for potentially one of the spots on the team, but he did thing about all his studies into past Ranger teams. A Ranger was always courteous and respectful. He shook her hand.

"Pleased to meet you Roxy." He replied. "Now, I just want to do some reading before induction so…"

"Oh, yes, that's fine. Thanks for the directions!" She called out as she watched him go, her eyes straying up and down him as he left. "Oh, this…this could be interesting."

Later in the day, the cadets had started to assemble in the main hall, awaiting their induction into the Ranger Program. Although they were only looking for three Rangers, they had accepted a grand total of 500 candidates, and even that was from a much larger field. They were eager to know that Morph-X would be well protected, and as such were going to great lengths to ensure that whoever was finally chosen was not only the absolute best of the best available physically and mentally, but also that they would encompass everything that they were wanting to represent. The Rangers this time around would not only be responsible for their team, and the citizens of the world, but also for the protection of the most important resource ever discovered. They would have to operate at the highest levels of discretion, with access to some of the most important secrets going right to the heart of Government. In short, whoever was chosen would have to be just right.

Commander Shaw took to the stage, and greeted them.

"Good afternoon, Cadets. Soon, you're going to begin what without exaggeration will be the most difficult, gruelling and challenging job application of your lives. Every single one of you here today has excelled in various fields and has proven yourselves worthy of a place within Grid Battleforce. However, before we go any further, I will require you to turn your attention to the right arm-rest on your chair. There, you will find a plate. Before we begin, I require you all to acknowledge and abide by an extremely strict non-disclosure agreement by placing your right thumb on this plate."

She took a deep breath.

"Be warned, this is not just a non-disclosure agreement with financial penalties. You will have access to information classified to the highest levels of Government, and as such your commitment to signing to it means you will be subject to a classified information act. Regardless of what happens after this day, if you sign up and you ever speak of anything you see or hear within this building or in any form of training thereof, you will be subject to the most stringent penalties, up to and including a custodial sentence in a Military Prison for up to twenty five years. Believe me when I say if you sign up to this, you are signing your life away so consider very carefully if you want to put your finger on that plate. There will be no judgement if you decide to leave now."

There was a bit of a stir in the crowd. Zoey was a little startled by what she had heard. She knew that the military did not play around when it came to their secrets, but they were threatening a 25-year sentence if they even talked about what happened here? She saw quite a few people second-guessing their decision, and quite a few even decided to get up and leave. It wasn't hard to imagine why, without being able to talk about what they were doing, anyone signed up to the program would have a gap in their employment history they couldn't explain. She would have considered going herself, but the fact was without Grid Battleforce, a college education was simply out of the question for her. She put her thumb on the plate to acknowledge her agreement to the confidentiality clause as approximately thirty or so cadets walked out of the room, deciding that their journey on the Ranger Initiative was already over.

"Quite a few gone already huh?" She heard a voice next to her say. She had to look down a little, the cadet sitting next to her was quite a bit shorter than her. She had to do a bit of a double-take, she wasn't sure at first it wasn't a kid that had wandered in, but it was pretty clearly an adult sitting next to her. "That's not bad."

"I would not want to tell dad if we got cut in the first sweep." Another cadet agreed. He was a fair bit bigger than the other one, and a little overweight with it too. He looked to Zoey and smiled. "So, you're staying huh?"

"For the time being." Zoey whispered.

"Ben." He introduced himself. "My twin sister Betty."

"We're really excited to be here!" Betty chirped up. "Dad was so stoked when we got our acceptance letters!"

"Zoey." She introduced herself. "Yeah, mom was pretty happy I got in too."

"Alright, to those of you who remain, I warn you that as of this moment, everything you say and do will be assessed." Commander Shaw continued. "The responsibilities you will be chosen to perform if you are successful will extend beyond merely being a soldier. You will be expected to be beyond reproach in your daily lives, to lead by example in everything you say and do. If you at any time fall to below what we consider a suitable representation of the values of Grid Battleforce and the Ranger Initiative, you will be cut. Now, I trust you have all done the required reading?"

"Uh…required reading?" Zoey asked as everyone started rummaging around in their bags for books. She'd received the list, but she didn't know she'd have to have the books and read them before she even got to Grid Battleforce. Sure, she knew that most colleges and academies preferred it if people read up first, but she figured she'd at least have some time to see if she could source some second-hand copies from someone on the base or the local library before the assessments began.

"Yeah, from the reading list." Ben told her. "You didn't get it?"

"Yeah, but I was…I was meant to have all those books already?" She asked. It wasn't like it was a small list, there were about fifteen books on the required reading list, most of which carried a pretty heavy price tag. She started to feel a little self-conscious as she realised, she was the only one that didn't seem to have the books. She nervously put her hand up in the air.

"Yes, Miss…" Commander Shaw began, looking to her register. It had taken their biometric data from the fingerprint scanner, so she could tell who was in that seat. "…Reeves."

"Zoey." She replied. "Um…yeah…I…don't have the books."

"You don't have them with you?" Commander Shaw asked her. "Well, from now on I'd suggest you bring them to classes instead of leaving them in your dorm…"

"Actually, I just…uh…don't have them yet." Zoey said, sucking her teeth. There was a scoffing laugh from a few rows behind her. She looked up to see Blaze with his feet up on the chair in front of him, talking to some of the guys around him with the kind of smirk on his face she just wanted to go up and wipe straight off his face.

"Did you not get the required reading list?" Commander Shaw asked.

"I did, I just um…" Zoey already felt that all-too familiar judgemental look from all around her. She didn't want to admit that the reason she didn't have the books was because she couldn't afford them, that would only make the situation all the more embarrassing if that was at all possible. "I just…haven't found a place I can…"

"Well, this is hardly an inspiring start is it Zoey?" Commander Shaw said dryly. "Come and see me after. We can discuss where you can get your required materials. For now, if one of your fellow cadets would be so good as to share the books for now."

Betty tapped Zoey on the arm and slid her a book, before sharing with Ben. Zoey thanked her before turning her attention to the book. Commander Shaw pulled up a display on a large screen behind her.

"Now, welcome to the first day of training." She told them. "Now, pay attention."

After the induction, Zoey was heading to the front of the class. She was stopped by Roxy.

"Hey, some first day huh?" Roxy asked her.

"Yeah, it was really something." Zoey agreed. "I should really get to Commander Shaw, she…"

"Yeah, what was that about?" Roxy asked her.

"I just haven't gotten around to getting them yet." Zoey answered. Roxy looked to her completely unconvinced. Zoey didn't like it when people felt sorry for her or judged her for the fact, she didn't have the same advantages other people did. She'd been taught the hard way that life wasn't fair, and she didn't want to be accused of crying about it.

"Tell you what, how about I wait outside and after this I can take you to Riptide?" She asked. "Nothing helps with the frustrations of a trying first day than a good sweat, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Zoey agreed. "I'll catch up."

Roxy headed outside, at which Zoey approached Commander Shaw, hanging back a little to make sure the other students left the room first.

"Ms Reeves, do I need to explain the meaning of 'required reading' to you?" Commander Shaw asked.

"No, I know I need to read that stuff, it's just…" Zoey shuffled a little uncomfortably. "I'm having a little trouble getting the books."

"They're all available at the book shop…"

"Well, I was hoping I could find something second-hand." Zoey said as she looked a little sheepish. "Or, even better, the library?"

"Zoey, many of the books on that list were only released this year." Commander Shaw told her. Zoey wasn't able to look her in the eye as she said this. Commander Shaw looked to her thoughtfully for a moment. "Is there something you're not telling me Ms. Reeves?"

Zoey looked around to make sure no one else was in the room, before moving a little closer. She muttered something that Commander Shaw barely heard.

"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" She asked.

"I…can't afford them." Zoey told her. Commander Shaw just looked to her a little thoughtfully.

"Well, you need those materials." Commander Shaw told her. "So, what do you intend to do to get them? I'm afraid we're not a charity here."

"I don't mind working." Zoey told her. "I've never asked for anything to be handed to me and I don't intend to start now."

Commander Shaw just started writing something down on a piece of paper. Zoey just rolled her eyes.

"Please, don't cut me!" Zoey begged her. "I'll…I'll do anything!"

"Here." Commander Shaw responded, offering her the paper. Zoey took it, her stomach churning as she accepted it. She was terrified that she had already blown it. She was a little surprised when she saw that she had instead written a note and signed it. "What's this?"

"Report to the laundry tomorrow at 4AM." She told her. "Give him that note, tell him to put you to work."

"Commander Shaw…"

"It's not going to be easy balancing your work there and your studies, but if you're serious about how much you want this, then you'll make this work." Commander Shaw told her.

"I…I…I will! I promise I will!" Zoey rushed out, beaming brightly. "I won't let you down! I swear I won't!"

"I have a feeling you won't." Commander Shaw said with a smile. Zoey just ran out of the lecture theatre. As she did so, General Burke arrived, watching her go.

"So, how did the induction go?" He asked.

"It had its moments." Commander Shaw told him. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"I'm sure that's the case." General Burke replied. "Who was that?"

"One of the cadets." Commander Shaw told him. "Zoey Reeves."

"Being held after class on the first day? That doesn't really speak well now does it?" He asked her.

"Oh, I seem to remember someone not too far from here that was almost never out of the Provost Sargent's office back in the day." She teased him.

"Yes, well…youthful indirections are one thing, but if the girl isn't suitable…"

"What would make you think that?" Commander Shaw asked him. He showed her a file on his tablet. "What am I looking at?"

"Her biometric scan showed up something a little…troubling…about her background." General Burke told her. He pointed something out to her.

"Muriel Reeves?" Commander Shaw asked him. "Her mother is Muriel Reeves?"

"I'm sure you can understand how having someone with a direct connection to the press could be seen as causing a little bit of concern." General Burke pressed on. Commander Shaw could see what he was thinking, but she was already starting to get a bit of a bearing on who Zoey was as a person. Sure, there were some rough edges, but no one seemed to be more willing to work on them than Zoey herself. It was the kind of thing that many mentors took a long time to inspire in someone, so when they found it in a person from the word go, it was something they were reluctant to lose.

"Well, yes, but she's signed up to the classified intel agreement just the same as everyone else." Commander Shaw protested. "I really think we should give her the benefit of the doubt."

"So, what was she here for?" He asked. Commander Shaw just sighed.

"She's having a little financial trouble." Commander Shaw informed him. "I assigned her to the laundry."

"I see. Yes, yes, that's a good idea." General Burke agreed. "Of course, she will still need to pass her assessments like all the other cadets, that's only fair."

He stepped a little closer.

"And if she should…wash out on her own, well…that's just one of those things isn't it?" He said with a shrug. Commander Shaw just blinked.

"I thought you said I was in charge of the selection process…"

"Of course, of course you are!" He responded. "Just…a thought. I'll leave you to it."

With that, he left the room, leaving Commander Shaw to ponder what he had said.


	4. A Different Introduction

Zoey felt a little better now that Commander Shaw had given her a way to help her make ends meet. It sadly would not be the first time she needed to balance work and education; she'd been working a full-time job around her studies in High School since she was old enough to do so. It was a tough slog, but she was used to it by now.

She met up with Roxy outside the lecture theatre just as she'd promised. The first day was really more of an introduction than anything else; the real training would begin the following day, along with her new job.

The Riptide Gym was indeed a short way from Grid Battleforce headquarters; it was only a few minutes' walk, which was good since although they had extensive gym facilities on-site, it would give them somewhere they could go nearby just to get a little while out of the base. It was not at all what Zoey was expecting.

Zoey had been used to community gyms and the local Y for her workout needs up until now. They were built in some areas as a way of giving people something constructive to do with their spare time rather than letting them hang around on the streets. To say that they were Spartan in their facilities was an understatement. They had space, and they had equipment, though most of it was donated from other gyms that were replacing their old equipment and whatever they could afford from grants and charitable donations.

The gym where Zoey did most of her training when she was looking at a military career was formerly a factory that had bare breeze-block walls, wafer-thin mats that didn't cushion anything at all, and a bathroom that...well...she didn't really know what the bathroom looked like because the smell was more than enough to convince her to never go anywhere near it. It was all about blood, sweat and tears. The people who went there were looking desperately for a way to get out of their neighbourhood much like her. Some with ambitions of fighting professionally, others aiming for careers in the armed forces, but none of them wanting to be there and eagerly awaiting any opportunity to claw their way out.

Riptide could not have been more different. The place was huge! It was brightly lit and painted in a bright colour scheme that took a little getting used to. There was equipment all around the room, from cardio equipment and resistance machines right through to free-weights. The middle of the room was set up with mats that while still thin, by comparison to the ones Zoey had been used to looked like a mattress, where there were some people in the middle of a yoga class.

There were notices around, indicating times of various classes and lessons near the door. Around the side, just past a small partition a little over waist-height were booths where people were eating and drinking a variety of healthy snacks, and yes, even the occasional treat for those that had "earned" a few wasted calories. There were a couple of video games in one corner, but only one guy seemed to be playing them.

"It's really something isn't it?" Roxy asked her, putting a finger under Zoey's chin and closing her mouth. Zoey had never seen anything like this...well, nothing up close anyway. She just nodded wordlessly. "Come on, let's get you signed in."

Zoey was starting to regret coming here. The place looked incredible, but the only thing she could think was that anything with these kind of facilities would probably have a suitably heavy price tag. The gym she went to only asked people to drop a few coins into a jar to help with the electric bill. Roxy took her to the counter where the barman saw them coming and approached, throwing a towel around his neck and smiling.

"Hey, Roxy, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm good." Roxy replied, leaning on the bar. "I was just hoping you could sign up my girl Zoey here."

"Sure thing, I just need a few details." He said as he looked out some forms from underneath the bar. "Alright, name?"

"Zoey Reeves." Zoey started to say, starting to become a little restless. "Um, I'm not really sure about..."

"Oh, it'll just be another couple of minutes." He told her. "Do you have any medical conditions we need to worry about? Asthma? Heart conditions?"

"Not that I know of." Zoey told him. "I mean...my knee sometimes dislocates, but I was taught how to put it back in."

"Ouch!" He responded. "Alright, I just need you to fill out your emergency contact details and you can hit the changing rooms."

"I'm sorry, how much is the membership here?" She asked. He looked to Roxy and smiled.

"This really is her first time isn't it?" He asked. Roxy just shrugged. "OK, the fees here are pretty steep; they start at...five dollars a month."

"I'm sorry?" Zoey asked, almost stumbling as she heard this. She didn't know what she was expecting to hear, but it sure wasn't that. It was not too much more than what she had been paying at the community gym near her mom's apartment.

"I make it up from the snacks and drinks." He replied cheerfully. "You have to pay for the classes, but that's between you and the instructors, but other than that, all I ask is you put your towels in the bins provided and please, go hit the shower after your workout before you sit down...THAT MEANS YOU EDDIE! Yeah, I see you there! Showers, NOW!"

Another gym patron had been about to sit down after his workout, but he sheepishly got up and headed for the showers. Zoey looked back to the guy at the counter.

"Since you're a friend of my little sister, I think we'll say that your first month is on me." He replied with a wink. "My name's Jeff, if you want anything don't be afraid to ask."

"I won't!" Zoey said with a smile as he walked away to serve another customer. "Your brother works here?"

"My brother owns the place." Roxy corrected her. "Mom wanted him to take on the family business but Jeff really isn't feeling it, so he took his inheritance from our grandmother and opened this place. He doesn't turn huge profits, but he really doesn't give a shit. He just likes providing a service for the community. It drives mom up the wall, but since that was the point, Jeff loves it."

"So, the changing rooms are this way?" Zoey asked.

"Yup." Roxy answered. "Come on, let's go."

Zoey loved her new gym. The equipment was all new, well-maintained and there was enough of it to ensure that even in the unlikely event she didn't get onto a piece of equipment she wanted right away, she didn't have to wait too long before one was available. She kept her eye on the clock, keenly aware of her early start the next morning. She was to report to the laundry at 4AM, so she didn't really want to be out too late, but she was aware Roxy had invited her so she didn't want to run off too early.

She took a break after resting some weights, while Roxy came over to her, mopping herself down with a towel.

"Nice workout." Roxy complimented her.

"Thanks." Zoey said, catching her breath as she took a swig of water. "But you were tearing it up, you're like a machine, do you ever get tired?"

"It's been a while." Roxy chuckled. "I've always been the active type, always on the go. Ballet, gymnastics, yoga, karate, anything that requires energy. Mom hopes that I'll burn it all up eventually, but it's not happened yet so..." She just shrugged.

"Karate?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah, I take classes here." Roxy told her. "I take the kids' beginner classes."

"You're in a kid's karate class?" Zoey asked her.

"No, teaching silly!" Roxy responded, throwing her towel at Zoey. "I'm a black belt so I have to do a certain amount of training to progress any further. I like teaching the kids because the way I see it, they don't know too much yet to resist and they're eager to learn. Older kids have a habit of thinking they know it all but when they're young, they listen and they have fun with it."

"Sounds like a nice gig." Zoey responded. She did karate herself, but she wasn't quite a black belt yet. As with many of her other endeavours, it was difficult to focus enough time and effort on it when she had so many pots on the boil at one time just to keep things going. "Maybe you can give me some pointers?"

"You're a little old for my class." Roxy chuckled. "But...there's an intermediate class. One of the other black belts takes that class."

"What about the advanced class?" Zoey asked.

"Oh...uh...well, they only admit brown and black belts." Roxy told her. "Blaze doesn't really like to spend time with people he really has to teach too much..."

"Blaze?" Zoey asked, her tone betraying how she felt about this revelation. She'd kind of dismissed it at first, but the way Roxy had spoken about it earlier, it did sound like she knew Blaze. "He takes classes here?"

"Well, yeah, there's a lot of people who want to train under a world champion, myself included." Roxy told her. "I take my lessons in his class, but I have to take the beginners and another black belt takes the intermediate class."

"Well, I'm not quite a brown belt." Zoey stated. "So is this other guy any good?"

"Oh, he is." Roxy told her. "In fact, his class is just starting if you want..."

"Uh...maybe another time." Zoey said as she realised the time. She'd already put in a full workout, if she went and did a karate class too then she would likely be completely wiped out for her shift in the laundry.

"Well, he's pretty good." Roxy told her. "And there are certain other...attractive features about is class."

Zoey cast a look over to the class, where a big guy was starting to call his students to order. She could swear she'd seen him at Grid Battleforce. He called them to order pretty quickly and once they were lined up started to take them through their warm-up. She caught a glimpse of Roxy, who was watching on, chewing on the edge of a water bottle as she stared at him.

"Hey, Roxy, I'm pretty wiped." Zoey told her. "I'm going to hit the showers, then get a drink. Are you thirsty?"

"Oh yeah, totally." Roxy said as she watched the other instructor. Zoey just rolled her eyes.

"I was meaning do you want a drink?" Zoey asked. "You brought me here, I figure it's the least I can do."

"Huh?" She asked. "Oh, oh right, yeah, ask Jeff for my usual, he'll know what that means."

Zoey started to head towards the showers, before Roxy just smiled.

"You will be mine, Ravi." She commented as she started backing her way towards the changing rooms. "Oh yes, you will be mine."

The following morning, Zoey's alarm woke her up, at which she immediately turned it off. She didn't want to risk waking Roxy, not when she had been so good to her already. It didn't take her long to get washed up and dressed; she knew she'd probably have to do so again before she went for classes anyway.

She headed along the corridors, looking around for the way to the laundry. Although she'd read the map, she wasn't entirely sure of the base's layout just yet. She had managed to find her way to the basement, but after that she was lost. She rounded a corner, bumping into someone.

"Oh, Oh, I'm sorry!" Zoey rushed out, seeing the guy with the glasses from before. "We really have to stop meeting like this."

"It's alright; I was just...um..." Nate stammered as he shifted the items in his grip around a little so he didn't drop them. He was starting to shift back into the porridge brain mode he seemed to go into whenever Zoey was around him. "Uh...samples...DNA..."

"Oh, DNA samples is that what these are?" Zoey asked him. "Sounds interesting. You're...starting awfully early, do you stay on the base too?"

"Yes...yes, I do." Nate stammered out. "In my bedroom." He winced a little as he said this. Of course he stayed in his bedroom, where the hell else was he going to stay? Zoey smiled.

"So, you're starting early too?" She asked.

"Yeah, there are some things I really need to get done at certain times of day." Nate told her. "The work with the animals really doesn't work on a human timetable..."

"YOU EXPEREMENT ON ANIMALS?" She shrieked, sounding horrified. Nate could see the worried, almost disgusted look on her face. He threw his hands out defensively, dropping everything. Fortunately, the sample jars were not breakable.

"Oh, no, you misunderstand! Some of our work INVOLVES animals, but we don't harm them in any way!" Nate assured her. "We need animal DNA, but we don't...we don't actually extract it from them."

"And how does that work?" Zoey asked him, sounding unconvinced. She'd heard of DNA testing before, and knew it generally involved taking things like bone marrow, flesh, blood, all things that took at least some kind of invasive procedure to take. Nate hurriedly grabbed a device from his pocket.

"Oh, no, we have technology, far beyond what they do outside." Nate assured her. "DNA when it's broken down, really right down, is basically like a mathematical code. If we can break down the DNA through a scan right to its base components, we can make all the DNA we need artificially. Kind of like a...a...3D printer!"

"You can print animal DNA?" Zoey asked, not knowing whether to be unconvinced or impressed. She had no reason to know that Nate, one of the most advanced minds on the planet, even despite being unable to string two words together in front of her without sounding like a complete moron, had in fact developed this technology himself as a way to get all the DNA he would need without the need for dissection. Partly because he knew how much he'd need and didn't want to keep so many animals captive, and partly because he just found the thought of it far too icky.

"Yeah, I can show you some time!" Nate told her, before screwing his eyes shut. "Um...except that's classified and I shouldn't have told you what I already did."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Zoey assured him. "If you can help me find the laundry before I'm late for my shift."

"You work in the laundry?" He asked. "I thought you were on the Ranger program."

"I am, but I just...need to get a little extra to buy some of my course books." She told him.

"Oh...well, there's no shame in that." Nate said as he picked up his stuff. "Here, it's just this way."

He took her down the corridor, finding his way towards the laundry. He stopped by the door and smiled.

"So...have fun." He regretted saying that. Why did he say that?

"Yeah, big time fun." Zoey sighed. "I'll see you around Nate. Good luck with the...well...whatever that is."

As she went into the laundry, finding the on-duty officer, Nate furrowed his brows and struggled to get a pen, writing a note to himself on one of the papers he was carrying, before heading to the lab to carry on his work.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Roxy had gotten up and had headed to the park for a morning run. The classes at Grid Battleforce would begin at 9, so she had time to take a little bit of a run before getting herself ready for the day ahead.

She was a little surprised that Zoey was already gone by the time she woke up, but it did give her the opportunity to work on another little project she was working on. There was a reason she chose the park to go for her run, and that reason was just about to come around any time now.

She'd had her eye on Ravi for a while now, at least a couple of months. He wasn't the most observant of people, he hadn't even noticed that she was in the same karate classes he was. He didn't notice her around Riptide, but in some ways, part of the appeal to her was trying to figure out the mystery that was Ravi. He was driven, he was focused but on what, exactly she didn't really know.

She had already managed to make the introduction at Grid Battleforce, and since it seemed like that was his main goal right now. It was for her too, she had signed up because she had heard about a Special Forces group that was being formed and could think of no keener test of her abilities, but the fact that Ravi was there too meant she could kill two birds with one stone. After all, why did she have to settle with just being a Ranger when she could be a Ranger and also catch the eye of one of the most gorgeous men she had ever laid eyes on?

She was waiting near the fountain that he seemed to use to measure his laps. She had seen him start his run there, and every time he passed it, he'd check his watch. She took a moment to prepare herself, knowing it wouldn't be too long before he was coming past again.

As she saw him approaching, she came out of her spot behind some bushes, sprinting to catch up to him, before slowing down to a more casual pace to make it look more like she had just happened across him. She smiled as she pulled alongside him.

"Hey there!" She called out, startling him. Ravi veered a little off-course as he turned to see her. "Sorry to interrupt, I thought that was you, small world huh?"

"Yeah, it is." He said. "Rosie isn't it?"

"Roxy." She corrected him. "This is a nice park for a run isn't it?"

"It's pretty good; the path is a good circuit." Ravi agreed.

"So, you come here often?" Roxy asked him.

"Whenever I..." He started to say, before being cut off as he tumbled head over heel. Roxy came to a halt and turned around to see that he had tripped over the edging stones of the path. She'd inadvertently caused him to veer off the path when she startled him. She brought her hands over her face as she came back to him, realising what she'd done.

"Oh...Oh, Ravi, are you...?"

"I'll be fine." He told her. "I should be...AHHHH!"

He tried to get to his feet, only to fall straight back to his butt, unable to put his weight on it. Great, just great! She'd been trying to get his attention and have a full conversation with him and instead she'd almost crippled the guy! She knelt down next to him as he started to check his ankle.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "Here, let me take a look."

Ravi reluctantly took his hands off his ankle, letting her take a look at it. She couldn't feel anything moving inside that shouldn't be, but it was most definitely swollen, and from the sounds he made as she touched it, it was very tender.

"I'm...I'm sorry." She stammered.

"Hey, don't worry about it; it's not your fault." Ravi assured her. "I should have been watching where I was going."

Roxy decided now wasn't the time to correct him that it was her fault. It seemed like he didn't realise their 'chance' meeting was entirely by design, up until the moment she almost caused him to break his ankle.

"It doesn't look like it's broken, it's probably just sprained." She said sympathetically. "Do you think you can walk on it?"

He tried once more to get up, but was instead straight back down.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while." He told her.

"My car's not far from here, I can get you to GB and get you to a medic." She told him.

"It's OK; I can rest here until...oh, OK!" He said as she scooped him up in her arms. He put an arm around her neck for support. She lifted him up, carrying him effortlessly. He looked to her, the sun just catching her hair as she carried him to her car. "Wow...thanks."

"It's alright." She told him. "I'll...I'll get you back shortly."

"Roxy." He said, looking to her. She just looked to him. "Thanks."

She just smiled in response.

"You're welcome." She told him, deciding it was probably best not to tell him she was the reason he got hurt in the first place. It might not have been how she intended to get beyond the introduction, but by the time she'd taken him to a medic, Ravi had given her his phone number.


	5. A Rotten Move

The next couple of weeks were like a dream for Ravi. He had given his all, every moment, every thought to his education and his training, giving up virtually everything else to focus on his goal, his ambition to be a Ranger. Dedication and commitment were Shaw family traits, one that even extended to the rare few who didn't end up in the armed forces. His grandfather, his mom's dad, had instead found his calling in life with jazz music. He hadn't really made a whole lot of money out of it, and he was always something of the black sheep of the family, the one that was a curiosity at the family gatherings that few of them really knew what to talk to him about since most of them talked about deployments and assignments, but even he showed the Shaw family obsession with being the absolute best in anything he put his mind to. He was a master musician in several different instruments, able to take up any position in the band whenever he wanted to and able to write music for any of them. Ravi had the exact same obsession, and could never imagine anything that would serve as anything other than a distraction to be sidelined.

Then she walked into his life.

Roxy was incredible, taking him to the medic when he injured himself in the park. He did get a limited dispensation from the physician to allow him suitable consideration while he recovered in his assessments, but Roxy was with him all the way. She always said she felt responsible for his injury, though he couldn't imagine how since their meeting at the park had been entirely chance, and it was his own fault he stepped off the path. But every day, she would come to check on him, help him study for his assignments, not that he needed it, and bring him his favourite protein shakes and meals.

While he was disciplined, he wasn't blind. It hadn't escaped his notice that Roxy was an absolute vision. Quite why she spent her time with him was completely beyond him, and she had a laugh and a manner about her that was infectious. He almost kicked himself when he blurted out before she left on the first night that he wanted to give her his number in case she wanted to meet up again. It almost put him in a coma when she smiled and gave him her phone to put in the number.

He had always thought that anything other than his training was a distraction. He saw guys messing around with other things like video games, movies, books, comics and he always thought that all it meant was their minds were split. It amazed him when, if anything, spending time with Roxy meant that he had moments of clarity when things started to make sense. Somehow stepping away from problems to spend some time with her walking in the park or helping her plan her karate lessons gave his mind a break and let him put together a lot more of the study he had put in and fit it together in a much more organised way.

He was very surprised when he found out she was in the same karate class as him, something he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed. As they spent time together he found out they had a remarkable amount in common, but more than anything else, more than he could explain, sometimes it was just being with her, not even talking, just being in the same place as her made him happier than he could ever remember.

The assessments were ongoing, and now a couple of weeks in, the first few cuts had been made. Not many so far, but enough to make sure people knew that Commander Shaw was serious when she told people that they were under the microscope at all times. People were cut for a variety of reasons. A couple of them were dropped when they were caught trying to buy answers to a quiz, Shaw explaining that first and foremost a Ranger had to lead by example and live the values that they preached. It was now a month into the program and people were getting the message loud and clear that no one was safe.

Nate was taking a lecture, explaining some of their equipment to the cadets. So far, none of them had gotten to handle or use any of the weapons they would eventually be asked to wield in defence of the city, but there was only so long that simulations and sparring matches with rubber weapons could prepare them for the harsh reality that one day they would need to use these weapons in a life or death situation. All of the weapons they were going to use were highly advanced and extremely powerful, meaning that if they were not handled correctly they could easily be as deadly to the Ranger, their team or any poor bystander unfortunate enough to be in the area if they weren't up to the task.

"And those are all the safety features of the Beast X Blaster." Nate said proudly, holding his creation up for them to see. "It's got the power of a bazooka in a hand-held format, but as long as you follow the simple instructions I've given you, then they should be entirely safe to handle."

"Thank you Mr Silva." Commander Shaw said, acknowledging Nate as he got a polite applause from the audience. "Now, before you all head off for your latest physical assessments, I just have time for your most recent written exams. Remember, you don't pass and you're out. Davis, F, you're gone. Edwards, F, you're gone. Winchester, 73 percent, well done."

Nate saw Blaze smirking as he got his paper and turning around, smugly showing it to some of the others. Blaze was doing well in his assessments, far better than Nate would have liked. He had grown up with stories about the Power Rangers and always saw them as heroes, examples of the very best that humans could be and should strive to be. It was about more than just giving someone who could fight a weapon and a fancy suit to him. Commander Shaw had reminded him that ultimately they were training soldiers to fight a war, and that didn't necessarily mean they would be nice people, but there was a part of Nate that would really love to see Blaze's smug, self-satisfied smile get wiped clean off his face if he was cut.

"Ravi, 98 percent, top of the class yet again, well done." Commander Shaw congratulated her son. They both had an understanding to try and not make the connection obvious. Ravi encouraged people to use his first name and didn't speak his surname out loud. His mother did the same in order to keep things less obvious. "Ms. Sears, 80 percent, well done. Ms. Reeves…MS. REEVES!"

Zoey grunted and stirred in her seat. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but her schedule was catching up to her. She almost jumped out of her chair as Commander Shaw slapped her paper down on the desk, waking her up with a start.

"Fifty percent, that's the skin of your teeth Ms. Reeves, I'll need to see those grades picking up!" Commander Shaw warned her. Zoey took the paper and wiped her eyes, before reading over the answers, looking to the corrections to find out where she had gone wrong. It wasn't easy having to pick times to borrow Roxy's books between all the time she was working in the laundry and of course the times Roxy needed them herself. Commander Shaw got to the front of the class, having finished reading out the results.

"Those of you who have been cut, go to your dorms and pack. You have until the end of the day to report for debriefing and then you'll be dismissed." Commander Shaw told them. "The rest of you, remember that tomorrow is the assault course. I suggest you all rest up and get yourselves ready. I expect to be sending a number of you home tomorrow. At ease!"

With that, she left to go and attend to other duties. Ravi smiled as he looked over his paper with glee.

"Wow, top of the class again!" Roxy congratulated him as she popped him on the shoulder. "So, what's that? All of the classes you're acing?"

"Not quite." Blaze said as he started to saunter over with his usual, arrogant swagger.

"Yeah, what a surprise, the multi-time world karate champion is acing the unarmed combat classes." Roxy said, rolling her eyes. "All we have to do is hope anyone attacking the city only wants to throw hands."

"It's OK Roxy, he's got every right to be proud." Ravi said as casually as he could. He was indeed the top of every other area of training. From weapons to tactics to procedure and theory, all of them, Ravi was the one to beat, sometimes by a very large margin. If it wasn't for Blaze beating him in unarmed combat scores, he would be the top across the board. "He earned those scores."

"Yeah, it's always good when people earn scores isn't it?" Blaze asked.

"What's that meant to mean?" Roxy asked.

"I was just thinking, has anyone else noticed how Commander Shaw refers to all the rest of us by our surnames, but always calls him Ravi?" Blaze asked. None of the others had really given it much thought, but now that he said it out loud, it did seem a little strange. There were some murmurs.

"If you've got something to say Blaze, how about you just come out and say it?" Ravi asked.

"Oh…OK." Blaze said, snatching the exam paper off Ravi's desk. Ravi was just a little too slow to stop him. Blaze pulled away the paper and started reading it aloud. "Hey, how's this for a thing, look at the name on this. Ravi…Shaw!"

There was something of a murmur among the other cadets. Roxy wasn't surprised. Ravi had told her who his mom was a couple of weeks ago. Zoey was too tired and frustrated over her own grades to really care much what anyone else was doing. Ravi just stood up to Blaze.

"What are you trying to say Blaze?" Ravi demanded angrily. Blaze just gave him a cocky little grin.

"Oh, nothing at all. I'm sure it's entirely a coincidence that the son of the Commander in charge of the whole program is acing every class." Blaze answered with an insincere little shrug. "I'm not suggesting there might be anything to it at all."

"Back off Blaze!" Ben called out as he and Betty interjected themselves between Ravi and Blaze.

"Yeah, that's so far out of line!" Betty agreed. "Ravi works twice as hard as anyone on this base, we've all seen it!"

"Like I said, I'm not suggesting anything." Blaze said as he held up his hands and backed away. "Anyway, I've got things to do. You know…assessments to prepare for. It's not like we know ahead of time what's coming do we?"

As he walked out, Ravi could see a lot of different looks coming his way. This was exactly why he didn't want anyone knowing who he was. It was bound to come out at some point, but he was hoping by the time it did no one would be under any doubt he had earned every bit of recognition he got. The way some of the cadets were giving him side-eyed looks and a wide bearth told him all he needed to know about how they had taken Blaze's none-too-subtly veiled suggestion how Ravi was getting to the top of every class.

"Ravi, ignore him, he's just a jerk." Roxy sighed as he gathered his things and wordlessly strode from the room. He knew better than to try and protest or reason with the other cadets about this. They'd already made up their minds, it was unlikely anything he said was going to change their minds. "Ravi…Ravi, wait!"

As she ran off after him, Zoey just put her stuff away and gathered up her bag. Ben and Betty came over to her.

"You know, I look at Blaze and I see a guy who looks like a Ranger, but he just..GRRR!" Ben put it rather eloquently, making a motion with his hands like he was breaking an imaginary stick.

"Who the hell is he to decide who earned the right to be here or not?" Betty agreed. Zoey just yawned.

"Guys, you don't need to worry, I'm the President, treasurer and founding member of the 'Blaze is a dick' club." Zoey assured them. "Anyway, I need to be going, they're expecting me back in the laundry."

With that, she just left the hall.

Roxy caught up with Ravi outside of the building, where he was on the basketball court, dribbling a ball and shooting it for the hoop. His frustration was obvious between the fact his aim had gone completely to hell, more often than not hitting the backboard or the rim and bouncing in random directions, and the fact he was throwing the ball so hard the whole apparatus was shaking.

"Ravi, calm down, please." Roxy begged him. Ravi threw the ball again, this time missing everything completely and instead hitting one of the cars parked nearby. He went to collect it. "Ravi…"

"What am I meant to do Roxy?" He asked her. "What am I meant to do?"

"Look, what Blaze did…that was a total dick move." She told him. "I don't know how he found out about you, but now that he has, is it really so bad?"

"You saw the way everyone was staring." Ravi told her.

"Well, not everyone." Roxy reminded him. "Ben and Betty were pretty quick to stand up for you."

"Ben and Betty have known me since we were kids. They already knew." Ravi told her.

"Well…Zoey didn't seem to care." Roxy pointed out.

"Who the hell is Zoey?" Ravi asked. Roxy didn't really think now was the time to tell him about her room-mate, not when he was so upset. Right now she was more worried about Ravi.

"Look, anyone that doesn't know you work twice as hard as anyone in here isn't worth giving a shit about." Roxy assured him. "You're the first to arrive and last to leave every single class."

"Yeah, gives me all the more time for my mom to give me all the answers." Ravi said bitterly.

"Ravi…"

"Well that's what everyone's going to think!" Ravi snapped at her. He threw the ball away as hard as he could. Roxy just put her hands on his shoulders, stroking them reassuringly.

"Well…maybe…maybe you could, I don't know…report him or something?" She suggested.

"Report him for what?" Ravi asked her.

"For spreading lies about you?" She suggested. "Making false accusations?"

"That's just the thing, he didn't accuse me of anything, he's too slimy for that." Ravi reminded her. "And if I tell mom and she comes down on him it's just going to make everyone assume he's right and she's coasting me right into being the Red Ranger!"

"So you're not going to do anything?" She asked him.

"I really don't see what I can do, nothing he's said is untrue." He reminded her. "I am the son of the Commander. If everyone thinks that means I'm getting an easy ride then there's nothing I can really do about that other than work so hard no one can doubt me. Of course, this is a competition and people will always be bitter when they get beat, so they'll always be looking for reasons why someone shouldn't get the position they think they deserve."

"Ravi, you know as well as I do that in the end, they're only going to choose the best." Roxy told him. "If whoever they pick isn't up to the role and they screw up, that's on their heads. No one's going to take on that kind of responsibility so that their kid can get to wear a fancy tight suit…no matter how good he'd look in it."

Ravi let out a little laugh. Roxy came close, placing her hands on his face tenderly.

"How about I take you for some yogurt?" She asked him.

"Sure, why not?" Ravi asked.

From the window just above them, Commander Shaw was watching. She just breathed a deep sigh. It hadn't taken long for word of what happened in the lecture hall to reach her. It was pretty much her worst fear coming to pass. She always knew that no one put more pressure on Ravi than he did himself. She knew that now people knew the truth, there would be a lot of ugly rumours and resentment, but that didn't cause her nearly as much concern as what Ravi might do to himself in his efforts to try and prove all the naysayers wrong.

After her shift, Zoey staggered through the halls back to her room, her clothes matted and drenched in sweat. The laundry was hard work, it was tiring, it was dirty, but most of all it was like working in a damn furnace. She got back to her room and opened the door, coming in past Roxy, who had returned after taking care of Ravi. She turned around to see Zoey coming in.

"Wow, tough shift?" She asked.

Zoey didn't answer with anything remotely resembling words, instead just kind of staggering past her into her own bedroom.

"Ravi's fine by the way." Roxy told her.

"Ravi?" Zoey asked wearily. "Oh…yeah, the…thing. That's good."

"I was wondering if you could give me access to Blaze's laundry." Roxy said. "I heard if you put pepper in someone's underwear…"

"I have no idea who get what uniforms, they're just issued." Zoey told her. "But if I think of something I'll…um…yeah."

"Wow, you really do look wiped." Roxy said sympathetically. "You should probably hit the sack if you're going to have any hope in the assault course tomorrow."

"I was planning on it." Zoey said, before looking to her comfortable…inviting bed. Without even a thought to undress, she flopped forward face-first into it, and regretted it almost instantly when her head collided with something with a solid thud. "OW! Son of a bitch!"

"What?" Roxy yelled. "What is it?"

"I don't know…" Zoey said as she got up, holding her head. She pulled back the covers, revealing some books. "Someone put books in my bed!"

"Really?" Roxy asked. "Why would anyone do that?"

Zoey picked up one of the books inspecting it. The title was familiar. She checked another, then another.

"These are all the course books I need." Zoey said, before opening one. "I thought this might be of some help. A friend."

Zoey took one of the books and rounded on Roxy.

"Roxy…"

"What?" She asked.

"Roxy, I am not a charity case!" Zoey yelled at her. Roxy just looked a little stunned. Zoey hated people feeling sorry for her or thinking she needed handouts to get by, unfortunately she still only had a couple of the books she needed and was way behind the others on the reading. She swallowed her pride and took a deep breath. "Look, I really appreciate this but…I'll pay you back, alright?"

"Pay me back?" Roxy asked.

"I insist!" Zoey put down flatly. "I don't take handouts. I never have and I don't plan on starting now."

She took a deep breath as she saw the look on Roxy's face. She knew that her friend was only trying to help. She did appreciate that Roxy had her back and would go to the trouble. "Thanks though."

She took the books out of her bed and put them on the desk, before heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up. Roxy just looked to the pile of books and picked one up, reading the message written inside.

"A friend, eh?" She asked, biting her lip thoughtfully. She didn't know about the books at all. She only found out when Zoey almost gave herself a concussion on one of them, but she could see Zoey was far too exhausted to be convinced that Roxy had nothing to do with it. "Now, that…that is interesting."

She put the book down and headed for her dresser to get ready for bed. She did want to help Ravi with his new problem, and she had her own assessment to worry about, but now, her curiosity was piqued. There was nothing she loved more than a good mystery, and right now, it seemed to be the perfect distraction to stop her trying to find a way to get even with Blaze.


	6. No Small Jobs

The following morning, Zoey's alarm sounded and she shut it off as quickly as possible to prevent it disturbing Roxy. It still sucked that she had to do a shift in the laundry before she was scheduled to go back to her assessments, especially today since it was the assault course, an assessment everyone was warned they were expecting to lead to a lot of cuts. The field was already whittling down fast and she was keenly aware that right now she wasn't exactly standing out from the crowd. If anything, she was barely keeping her head above water.

As she was getting dressed, her gaze fell upon the stack of brand new textbooks. She still had a little bit of a lump on her head from when she hadn't noticed them in her bed and flopped face-first into them without checking. She didn't have any reason to think that someone would have put some big, thick textbooks in her bed, so really there wasn't any reason to think there was any reason she wouldn't be able to do so, but there they were, all the books she'd need, brand new straight out the bookshop.

She didn't like people feeling like she was a charity case. She didn't have the same advantages as other people, but she was so proud she didn't want to take handouts. She was grateful of course that she now had the reading materials meaning she could now catch up to the level everyone else had been on day one. She was grateful that Roxy was kind enough to get the books for her, but she was determined that she would pay her back.

As she was getting ready, she did hear something from Roxy's room. She was a little surprised that Roxy might actually be awake at all at this time, she really didn't have any reason to be awake at this time of the day, but she still didn't want to disturb her. She was just starting to make her way quietly out of the dorm they shared when she stumbled on something on the floor. It was a pair of boots, standard issue GB but they looked far too big to be Roxy's. They were placed by the door, another thing that was odd, because Roxy tended to take her things into her room, and her style of putting things away was more accurately described as throwing them in the air and seeing where they landed. These boots looked like they'd been taken off at the door and left there to prevent trailing anything from outside over the rest of the room, a little bit of an odd thing to care about since neither of the girls really worried too much about a little mess.

"Not yet." Roxy murmured.

"But I always go for my run at this time." Another voice came from her room. Zoey grimaced hearing this. Now she understood, the boots definitely weren't Roxy's! However, if it was another cadet, then both of them were consenting adults, so what they decided to do was really none of her business. Zoey decided to just quietly let herself out.

She made her way to the laundry past more than a few other cadets. Being the day of a major assessment, one where they were assured there would be many cuts, it wasn't a surprise there were a lot of cadets warming up and preparing for what was to come. No one was given advanced knowledge of what the assault course would be like, since it was as much of a test of their ability to react to the unknown as it was a physical test, but there were already people working out, heading out on runs or going to the gym. None of them really paid much attention to where Zoey was going, probably assuming that she would be doing the same. She went down into the basement, stepping off the elevator and finding Nate wandering around.

"Cruise? Cruise? Where are you?"

"Hey…you looking for something?" Zoey asked him.

"Oh…uh…yeah, but…um…"

"Classified?" Zoey asked him. He just nodded. "Right."

"Hey, what happened to your head? Are you OK?" Nate asked her. She lifted her hand up to the bump on her forehead.

"Yeah, just a little bump. My roommate thought she was doing me a favour by putting books on my bed, but just didn't tell me before I jumped in." She explained.

"Ouch." Nate said with a pained expression on his face. He wished he'd thought of that. He remembered Zoey saying she didn't have the books she needed and had got them himself to make sure she didn't fall behind. He had seen something in her he admired, and while he wasn't self-delusional enough to believe that his decisions surrounding Zoey were entirely innocent, he did see that she was a kind and thoughtful and helpful person. He'd grown up with stories about the Rangers of the past and he saw in her a lot of the qualities he thought would make a good Ranger. He did, however, realise that his decision making kind of went to hell around her. Why hadn't he just put the books on her desk? It was only a couple of paces away from the bed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, head like a rock." She responded. "Anyway, I'll let you go back to looking for your rabbit or…whatever it is you're looking for."

"Thanks…have a good day!" Nate called after her, before smacking himself on the head as she left. "Idiot! Why didn't you just leave the books on her desk? Cruise! Come on, where are you?"

Zoey got into the laundry, taking off her jacket to prepare for work. As she turned to the laundry though, she was a little bit surprised to find that she wasn't alone. Her shift started a little bit before the others so that she could set up for when people's laundry baskets started to get delivered.

"Ben?" She asked.

"Oh, hey Zoey!" Ben said cheerfully, waving from a large pile of clothing on the floor.

"Hey, Zoey!" Betty greeted her from a little further off as she was struggling to carry a couple of large bottles of laundry detergent. Grid Battleforce had a lot of employees, all of them uniformed officers, which meant a hell of a lot of laundry. The whole thing was industrial scale, including the volumes and strength of chemicals they used.

"Ben, Betty, what are you guys doing here?" Zoey asked her.

"Oh, we work all over the base." Ben told her.

"Yeah, we do a bit of everything." Betty answered. "Admin, maintenance, security…even some research and development whenever Nate lets us into the lab."

"He gets a little touchy about some of his classified stuff." Ben added with a little nod.

"I didn't know you guys worked as well as trained here." Zoey said, a little surprised.

"The whole machine operates because of a lot of little cogs." Betty declared proudly. "Dad always said there's no such thing as a small job, just people too small to see that any job is important when it's not done. So we always try and help out whenever we can, whether it's washing dishes, changing lightbulbs or even scrubbing toilets."

"That's a really great way of looking at things." Zoey agreed. "My mom always said don't be afraid of big problems solve big problems."

"I think our dad would like your mom." Ben said thoughtfully, before a thought crossed his mind. "Uh…if he wasn't married of course. I mean, I don't mean like that or…"

"It's fine, I get what you mean." Zoey assured him. "Alright, the first baskets should be getting in soon. I guess it'll be nice to have a little help for once."

She then thought about something.

"Say guys, you…you want to try something a little different?" Zoey asked.

"Different?" Betty asked. "Like what?"

"I normally don't get time to reorganise, but I was just thinking…maybe there's a way to make all this a little more…" She went over to one of the benches. "Ben, can you help me move this?"

"What are you doing?" Ben asked her.

"I think maybe if we move things around a little, maybe we can maximise the space and it'll let us organise things into more manageable loads." Zoey told them. Zoey started to look around, getting an idea of the size of the room and the space she had to work with. "Betty, move that over there, so we've got a bench closer to the washer, and then if we put another one here between the washers and the dryers…yeah, I think that might work."

With that, she grabbed one of the benches and started dragging it across the floor. Ben and Betty just looked to each other, before shrugging and joining in.

In another part of the base, Commander Shaw was looking over some reports, but her mind was far from the task at hand. She was still troubled by what had happened the previous day.

It was a vain hope that no one would figure out the connection between herself and Ravi. If anything it was probably lucky that no one had figured it out for this long. The sad fact was that with her being involved in the program at all, anything that happened which benefited her son was bound to be under scrutiny. That she was the one that was ultimately making all the decisions regarding the Ranger selection only made it all the easier for people to point the finger.

The mere accusations of nepotism weren't just hurtful, but extremely difficult for anyone to do anything about. It didn't matter that she would be the first one to tell her son he was cut if she had any reason to believe he would be a threat to any team he was on. She'd served in combat before and on more than one occasion had sadly been left in the situation where people were put in positions of responsibility because they either knew the right people or were related to the right people. She had personally seen the results, and she had seen good people lose their lives when someone who was lacking ended up with the responsibility for people's lives. As proud as she would be to be the one to present her son with his morpher on graduation, she always valued the lives of those in her care over her own vanity, and would sooner see him writing reports or stocking stores than having to be the one delivering a folded flag to the loved ones of someone under his command because he wasn't up to the role.

She knew that there were bound to be things said about her. Whatever she did, whatever she said, if it somehow benefited Ravi, then it was going to invite scorn at best and calls for her dismissal at worse. She was prepared to face the slings and arrows people had for her. It wasn't as though she'd always had an easy career, but she worried how Ravi would deal with it. If anything, for him it would be worse. For all their bitterness or anger or even just self-serving spite in seeing a convenient way to remove a strong contender by getting Ravi drummed out on accusations of favouritism people would always have to be cautious how they spoke to her as when all was said and done she was an officer. Ravi, for the time being at least, was one of them, which meant he had to face it all without that filter.

She heard a knock on the door and turned to see General Burke standing in the doorway.

"I was wondering if you have a moment." He told said. She just gestured him inside. "So, today's the first big test eh?"

"Yes, the assault course will be a real eye-opener." She agreed. "I'm expecting at least a twenty five percent attrition rate today."

"The first big cull." He said bombastically, pounding his fist on the table. "Sort the wheat from the chaff and all that!"

"Yes, something like that." She replied. He opened up a folder.

"I did want to talk to you about a troubling…"

"Sir, if you're talking about the issue with my son, I promise I'll keep things well in hand." She assured him. "If nothing else, I'll inform you if you need to step in."

"Wait…what?" He asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You've not received complaints about my son?" She asked him.

"Why would I? From what I see here he's well on his way to top of the class!" He responded.

"So, you haven't heard about the…incident?"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you have it well in hand." He told her. "No, I was actually talking about another cadet, the…um…the Reeves girl."

"Zoey?" She asked. It took her a moment to remember the previous conversation she'd had with General Burke regarding Zoey. He'd taken a little bit of an issue with finding out her mother was a reporter. While there was no real proof that she was a security risk she could definitely understand why someone who had a direct family link to the media, albeit a woman whose most hard-hitting story of the last six months was about dog owners who looked like their pets, would present him with some concern about giving her access to classified information. "General Burke, I've been monitoring her…"

"Oh, I'm sure you have, I have as well." He responded. "A write-up for attending training out of uniform? Falling asleep in class? Not having the required reading? This doesn't speak well to the girl's commitment."

Commander Shaw had known General Burke a long time. The two families were close, and she didn't ever think of him as a malicious or vindictive person. Just like her, he'd been in combat zones and seen what happened when gambles were taken with people's safety. His concern was likely genuine concern about those that would be on the program, but having seen how hard Zoey was willing to work, she understood a lot of the extenuating circumstances in some of her slips. General Burke did bring up some good points in some of the things instructors had commented on, but it sounded to her like he was fishing for excuses to send Zoey packing for something that was entirely beyond her control.

"Sometimes the best soldiers are the ones that take a little longer to smooth off the rough edges." She declared, before leaning on the desk and raising an eyebrow. "I remember someone not too far from here that was written up more than a few times back in the day for conduct unbecoming."

"Yes…well…that's as may be." General Burke spluttered, a little surprised that Shaw was willing to go to bat quite so aggressively for Zoey. It was only one cadet, there had to be about a dozen or more she'd already seen something in. Even this early she had to have her eye on some of the candidates as possible Rangers. "But her grades…"

"Could do with a little work." Shaw interrupted him. He just sighed.

"You see something I don't, don't you?" He asked. Shaw just smiled.

"Perhaps." She answered. "It's a little early to tell for sure."

"Well, like you said, the assault course will be telling." He answered. "I'll leave you to it."

"Thank you sir." Commander Shaw replied as he left. She sat in her chair, and composed her thoughts about the task ahead.

Later in the day, Zoey was finishing up her shift in the laundry. She thanked Ben and Betty for their help before turning to head back to her dorm. She was just about to go when she ran straight into someone.

"Watch it!" He protested. "Anyway, I was just passing the lab and that kid with the glasses couldn't see a couple of feet in front of him so he spilled…"

She looked up and gulped, seeing him standing over her. Blaze just gave her a little smirk.

"Wait…you work down here?" He asked. "You work in the laundry?"

"Yeah." She answered. "What's it to you?"

"Oh my God, this is great!" He laughed derisively as she stood before him. Zoey was rarely self-conscious, she had always prided herself on earning everything she had, but Blaze's mocking was getting to her. "You do know we're training to be super soldier here, right? Not washer women."

Zoey folded her arms, refusing to say anything to him. She could already see the wheels turning in his head about what his next insult was going to be.

"Look, can you just get out of my way? I'd like to go get changed before the assessment and…"

"Why are you working in the laundry?" He asked her, looking like this was the funniest thing in the world to him.

"Well, not everyone can have mommy and daddy buy us everything!" Zoey snapped at him. "Now, do you want something or can I get past?"

"Well, you are the laundry aren't you?" He asked, shoving his clothing towards her. Zoey just rolled her eyes.

"Put it in the basket like everyone else!" She told him.

"Oh, but I'm not like everyone else am I?" He asked. He pulled some cash out of his pocket. "And some of us can pay for premium service."

"Put it in the damn basket!" She growled, before shoving her way past. Blaze just watched her go.

"See you around laundry girl!" He mocked her, before dumping his clothes in one of the baskets.

Later in the day, the cadets were assembling for the latest assessment. Zoey arrived, finding Roxy stretching off as they waited for Commander Shaw to come and oversee the assault course.

"Hey, there you are." Roxy greeted her. "You mind?"

Zoey offered her a hand, helping her up.

"Someone seems full of energy today." Roxy commented. "Like a big old Energizer bunny!"

"I pretty much had the run of things today." Zoey told her. "So, I decided to re-organise things a little and it turns out I made things a little easier. I finished up the shift's work a lot faster and without almost killing myself."

"That's great." Roxy stated.

"So, instead of wiping me out it was just a good workout." Zoey said proudly.

"Well, those are pretty good." Roxy answered with a smile. "I had quite a good workout myself."

"Oh, I know." Zoey told her. Roxy just smirked as she said this.

"Shaw!" One of the cadets called out. "Shaw!"

"My name's Ravi." He corrected him.

"So, tell us, how many practice runs did your mom let you have at this course?" He asked.

"I've not seen it before, just like the rest of you." Ravi told him. "Maybe if you worried more about your own performance instead of making unfounded accusations you might find your scores improving."

"You know, I used to wonder how one guy could ace pretty much everything." Another cadet mocked him. "I guess it's pretty easy when you get the tests in advance."

"I do all the exact same tests you do. The fact I'm doing better is because…"

"Oh, I think we all know why you're doing better." The other cadet interrupted him. Ravi looked livid, stiff, like he was about to lose it. Commander Shaw arrived before anything could escalate though.

"Alright cadets, as you know today is the assault course. This is designed to test your physical strength, speed and endurance, as well as your ability to adapt to unknown situations." Commander Shaw told them. "We will send you into the course in groups of ten. At the end of the course, you will find a blaster range which will include both static and moving targets in a combat setting. Now, this is a major test so be aware that the stakes are high. If you fail to complete the assault course in under four minutes, you will be cut. If you fire on a target designated an innocent or fail to register a score of above seventy percent on the blaster range, you will be cut. If you fail to complete the entire exercise in under seven minutes, you will be cut."

"I guess it's easier when you know what's coming." One of the cadets whispered. Commander Shaw didn't hear what was said, but could see the way Ravi was tensing up. Nate was getting ready to say something, but she just held up a hand to silence him.

"Alright, before we begin, I think we need to clear the air and get rid of an elephant in the room." She said, at which Ravi looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. "I know that by now you've no doubt all heard that my son is indeed one of the cadets in this program. Just know this, I do not take the implications of favouritism lightly."

She started pacing.

"Rest assured, the only reason you will be cut here is if you are not making the grade and I do not care one bit if your surname is Anderson or Carter or even Shaw." She assured them. "If any of you at any time feel my conduct at any time shows bias or prejudice, the procedure for putting in a complaint to my direct superior is documented in the GB code of conduct."

She then stood before them sternly.

"But I will NOT tolerate anyone making baseless accusations behind my back." She told them. "IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes Commander." They all chorused. Commander Shaw just sighed and stepped away. She doubted that what she had said would end things, but she did hope that at least it might make people think twice about trying to press the matter in public.

"Alright, first group, line up!" Commander Shaw instructed them. Ten of them all lined up ready to go. "Mr Silva, on my mark, open the door and let them into the testing area."

"All right, here you go…all together…on my mark…together!" Nate said, looking to Zoey as he put his hand on the switch. He threw the lever, opening the door and letting the first group in.

Ravi and Blaze took an early lead, and it was clear that they were going to be the ones to beat. It didn't matter if it was a cargo net, a balance beam, a crawl tube, they shot through every obstacle almost as though it was open ground. They were both out to prove their dominance, neither one wanted to come in second.

Zoey struggled a little with some of the obstacles. They were all designed to sap the strength so that by the time they got to the end, it was a real gut-check to see who still had anything left. By the time they were almost at the end though, her heart fell as she saw the wall. A literal 15 foot wall directly in their path.

She had no idea how Ravi, Blaze and Roxy managed to make it up. Both Ravi and Blaze almost looked like they ran right up it, even though she knew that was physically impossible. They managed to drive up high enough to grab the top and nimbly flip themselves over. Roxy took the slightly more unique approach of running at the corner, being able to spring between two walls to boost herself up from each in quick succession to be able to get over the top. Zoey didn't have anything like that level of gymnastic ability, so she was left with the option of trying to jump.

She leapt at the wall again and again trying to get some purchase, but it just wasn't happening. She was keenly aware time was ticking down. She saw Ben and Betty similarly having issue. Ben's attempts to jump got him little higher than the height of his own knees and Betty was so short that even if she managed to jump her own height she'd still be nearly six feet short.

She was beginning to lose hope, when something occurred to her.

"Ben, give me a boost!" Zoey told him. Ben just looked at her.

"What?" He asked.

"Stand against the wall and bend over!" She told him. He just stared at her blankly. "They sent us in as a group! No one said we had to do the course alone!"

Ben and Betty both nodded in agreement. Ben hunched over, allowing Zoey to use his back as a launch pad, managing to get her hands onto the top of the wall. She felt something under her feet as she scrambled and looked down, seeing that Betty had climbed onto Ben's back and was pushing her up. She took the boost gratefully, getting to the top, balancing herself as she reached down.

"Betty, come on!" She called out. Betty jumped as high as she could, grabbing Zoey's hand. She pulled Betty up leaving only Ben at the bottom. They both reached down, beckoning him up, but after a couple of attempts, he just slumped down and shook his head.

"Ben, come on!" Betty called to her brother.

"No, I'm done!" He told her. "There's no reason for you to fail too. Go on!"

They both looked reluctant. It didn't seem right to leave Ben behind to fail the course and be cut after he had helped them, but he just waved them on.

"Go on, it's alright!" He assured them. Betty and Zoey reluctantly leapt down the other side.

Ravi and Blaze were on the final stretch to the firing range, and Blaze could see Ravi was a couple of steps ahead. He knew that people would be monitoring what happened in the assessment, so he couldn't be too obvious about trying to mess up Ravi's performance, but he did stray a little, 'stumbling' into him and shoving him. Ravi hit the table with the blasters on it, knocking one of them off the table to the ground. He rounded on Blaze, but he had already picked up his blaster and was on his way to the range. He knew damn fine it was deliberate, but he figured the best revenge would be out on the range. Picking up the blaster from the ground, he checked it, seeing it was damaged, so he put it back on the table and grabbed another, running after Blaze.

Zoey kept a good pace, encouraging Betty along. They already knew that Ben was being cut, so she didn't want Betty to get cut too if she could help it. Although it meant they were at the back of the group, they were fast enough to complete the course before the time elapsed, even if Zoey did have to grab Betty and drag her the last few feet to make sure they beat the buzzer.

They took a second to catch a breath, at which Betty went to the table to collect a blaster. There were only two left, but when she picked hers up, she saw a malfunction light blinking. The blaster was damaged and would not function. Safety was paramount in Grid Battleforce, so Nate's tech was naturally built with a failsafe that the weapons would simply not function if they were damaged rather than risk them misfiring or exploding. Zoey finally caught her breath.

"OK, time for the range." Zoey gasped. "That my blaster?"

Betty didn't think about her decision long at all. She picked up the other blaster from the table and handed it to Zoey.

"Here." She told her. They both ran into the range, where holographic targets started to flash up. Some of them were shaped like armed assailants, others like innocent civilians. Zoey fired for all she was worth, hoping that more of her blasts landed than missed. By now her head was spinning, and she could hardly breathe, but she could see the end of the course in sight. She got to the end, at which the buzzer sounded. Both she and Betty almost collapsed in exhaustion at the end.

"Nicely done Zoey." Commander Shaw congratulated her. "It was not the premium run by anyone's standard, but I do have to commend you and your group for being the only ones to figure out you could work as a group. Seventy two percent, you pass."

Zoey cried out in jubilation, looking up from the ground as Betty stood up. Commander Shaw looked to her, holding out a hand.

"Betty…you didn't shoot a single target." Commander Shaw told her. "You know what that means."

Betty just nodded, before handing over the blaster.

"Wait…what?" Zoey asked. "You didn't shoot any targets? Why not?"

"It helps if the blaster works." Betty told her. Zoey just looked to Commander Shaw.

"This isn't right, if the blaster didn't work, you have to let her run again…"

"I'm sorry Zoey, that's not how things work. Sometimes things aren't fair." Commander Shaw told her. She looked to Betty regretfully. "You and your brother did very well to make it this far. Your father will be very proud."

As she left to oversee other groups, Zoey came to Ben and Betty, who were consoling each other over their disappointment.

"Guys, I'm sorry, I…" She stammered. "It…I'll quit…"

"Why?" Betty asked her.

"It's not right for you guys to get cut and not me." Zoey told them. "I wouldn't have got through the course without you."

"Zoey, it's OK. You'd be a great Ranger." Betty told her. "And…there are no small jobs right?"

"Right." Ben sighed. "I'd have loved to be a Ranger, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to help."

"You guys…"

"Zoey, if you quit then none of what happened today means anything." Betty told her. "Please, promise me you'll stay."

Zoey didn't know what to say, so she did the only thing she could think of and beckoned them both in, hugging them both tightly. For them, the journey might be over, but now Zoey owed it to them to make it as far as possible. If she became a Ranger, she wouldn't just be doing it for herself, she'd be doing it for Ben and Betty too.


	7. A Power Move

With the first major cull done, the field was now getting whittled down quickly. Grid Battleforce was not kidding when they said they were looking to narrow the field of prospective Rangers. The assault course, which some had come to dub "the meat grinder" had culled a significant number of cadets, and now out of an original field of 500 candidates only a little over 300 remained, and even they were getting whittled down.

Conduct and discipline were judged very harshly, and now that they had felled almost half the original intake, the standards they were expecting were much, much higher. The assessments were getting harder, the tests getting more regular and the training significantly tougher.

Ravi woke up with significantly less than his usual spirit and enthusiasm. It had now been two weeks since the assault course, and as the competition got more intense, so too did the rumours and snide remarks about nepotism. He liked Ben and Betty, but if he was honest, for the briefest of moments there was a part of him that was happy they were cut. Not just because of any doubts they could cut it as Rangers if his life depended on them, but because they were the kids of General Burke, his mom's direct superior. If they were able to be cut, then surely that proved that no one was above the rules and people would finally stop thinking that a person's surname mattered more than their scores right? Unfortunately, even now that Ben and Betty were cut and were now reduced to menial tasks around the base, the rumours didn't stop. If anything, the closer everyone came to the cut, the more vocal they became that Ravi was only there because his name was Shaw.

He didn't like the fact that he thought this way about his long-time family friends, he knew it was a despicable way to think of them. He was ashamed of the fact he was glad to see them being cut, even if it was only for a moment. They were not the strongest of candidates, but they had more heart and courage than many of the cadets by a long shot. It was a selfish way to think, one that surprised and sickened him, but such was his desperation to just be seen on his talents, his skill, his hard work and his merit that he was growing more and more frustrated. He simply didn't know what he had to do to prove that he was there because he deserved to be.

He heard a little groan beside him, and turned, seeing Roxy wrapped up in the sheets beside him. She was one of the few bright spots left for him on the base. He wasn't sure how his mother would feel about the relationship, he was pretty certain that she'd never approve of the fact that they regularly found themselves spending nights in each other's dorms. That part had surprised even him. He'd never thought about love before. It was something that he was sure would happen at some point in his life, that there would come a time when he was looking to find someone to share his life with once he had set up his career, perhaps even start a family with, but it wasn't something he was actively looking for. Roxy had come at him like a bolt from the blue.

She was utterly beautiful in every conceivable way. She'd looked like an angel to him when she helped him back to the Command Centre after his accident in the park. Their chance meeting was like some kind of miracle he couldn't believe, but it stood out to him as one of the luckiest moments of his entire life. She was more than just a beautiful woman, but a beautiful soul too. She was interested in what he had to say, something that was a novelty for him, she enjoyed life, finding things to smile and laugh about in even the seemingly mundane.

Even some of her habits that could on the surface seem a little irritating he quickly found to be charming. She was an animated person, a fidgeter, the kind of person that never quite seemed to know what to do with her hands, other than being seemingly unable to keep them still for particularly long. In one of the occasions he'd brought her to his dorm to study with him, she'd gone through some of his drawers, and happened upon some old sketch books of his. She lit up when she finally got him to admit that the drawings were his. Ravi had always loved art, even if he had kind of abandoned it after school. While he genuinely had loved it, taking joy in everything from charcoals to water colours and even just simple pencils, he didn't see it as something with a future.

Roxy had begged him and pleaded with him to draw her, but after finally badgering him to do so, he now found he didn't need to be convinced anymore. She was his inspiration. Looking at her now, sleeping contentedly in his bed, he could only see a picture he wanted to capture, to be able to keep forever, but he thought better of it. Instead, he got dressed, left Roxy a note in case she woke up and headed back to her room by the time he returned, and went out for his morning run.

Elsewhere on the base, Zoey was working in the laundry, going through her shift. Now that she'd had a few weeks in the laundry, she was starting to get used to the workload, and she had managed to re-work her section to make things a little more efficient and a little easier for her to handle. Other people had started to notice too and were starting to ask how she seemed to get through her work faster than they got through their own, and before long, she was starting to give them suggestions, which quickly got back to the supervisor and before she knew it, he was having her help him to re-work the entire department to make things a little easier.

There were still some things she could do little about. The heat was something that would never go away, with so many machines running the place was only marginally cooler than the boiler room, and the fumes…that was a whole other thing. The chemicals were strong, and it wasn't the first time people passed out from the combination of the heat and exposure to the fumes until they got used to it. Zoey was starting to become acclimatised to it all, but even she sometimes found herself feeling a little light-headed and a little fuzzy towards the end of her shift.

They pay wasn't great, but it did mean she had some cash in her pocket at least, and she was squirreling some money away to pay Roxy back for her textbooks. Catching up on where everyone else was a few weeks ago was still a struggle, but she was nothing if not a skilled multi-tasker, and while some people would play music while they were on shift, for Zoey, it was a recording of herself reading over her study notes, over and over and over, trying to remember all those little rules and regulations she'd be expected to follow.

The coursework involved not only procedure and rules and regulations, but also an extensive history on previous Ranger teams. While some of the Rangers were still around, they had all long since retired and gone on to other things, most never revealing their identities to the public and simply disappearing into obscurity. At times she did wonder what exactly someone would do after being a super hero, but since she knew at least one had ended up serving two terms as President of the United States, she had to imagine they had to have pretty remarkable lives after their tenure.

"Reeves!" Her supervisor called at the top of his lungs. He tapped his watch, causing her to look at hers. It was the end of her shift. She gave him a grateful nod and bundled up her last batch, putting it aside for the next shift, before heading out.

She went to the mess hall to go and get something to eat before she would go back to her dorm to shower and get dressed. One benefit of the base was that there was never any issue about being able to eat, and while others did like going off-base to eat, here in the Mess, GB picked up the tab.

She managed to get herself some muesli with currants and bananas, something she was sure would keep her going during the day. She pulled out some textbooks and opened one up to start reading while she ate. There weren't many others around, most cadets spent the time before classes to themselves, but it did mean that she was going to get some peace. Another reason she wanted to be out of the dorm room was she wanted to give Roxy's boyfriend time to leave. She never could keep track of whether Roxy was with him or he was with her, it was exhausting enough trying to keep her distance while they just got on with their own thing. Zoey was glad they were happy, but she did wonder if they forgot that Roxy wasn't the only one in that dorm room at times.

She was reading up on some history coursework when some of the cadets came in from the basketball courts, making a little bit of a racket as they did. She tried to just ignore them, concentrating on her coursework while they got a table to themselves. She did cast a little glance over, seeing Blaze was with them and rolled her eyes, before turning her gaze back to the books.

She had no idea why, but a lot of the cadets were starting to look up to Blaze, he was one of the top scoring cadets in many areas, but he was an insufferable jerk with it. He always had to brag and make a show out of everything. While he did have a dorm on site like the others, he never actually stayed in it, living off site. She imagined he didn't want to give up the life he was accustomed to, and since he normally bribed or bullied someone into valet parking his motorcycle for him. She didn't know what was worse, the fact he expected the other staff to park his bike or the fact more often than not someone actually would.

She didn't know who was talking Blaze up more, the legion of fans he seemed to have following him everywhere, stroking his ego, or Blaze himself. Even though she hadn't seen the game they had just played, within a few minutes of them arriving she was sure she could probably give a detailed commentary of the game. Through her mom, she had figured out who Blaze was pretty early on. Blaze was the only child of the Winchester family, one of the families that had invested in the Morph-X development. The Winchesters were already one of the wealthiest families in the country, and being on the ground floor when Morph-X hit the market with a significant share of the market would undoubtedly only increase their wealth.

Blaze was well-known in his own right. A multi-time world karate champion and even a model on occasions, he pretty much had the world at his feet. She didn't get involved in his childish little slanging matches with Ravi, but she did think it was more than a little bit rich of him to accuse Ravi of nepotism when his family owned a significant share of Grid Battleforce, and much of the things he said about Ravi could easily be said about him. Of course she never wanted to lower herself to slinging mud like him. Speaking of mud, her attention was raised when something hit her. She looked down to her clothes, seeing a goopy mess on her uniform, possibly oatmeal or maybe porridge. Given the laughter, she could tell it came from Blaze's table.

"Hey!" She protested. "I know eating's difficult but how you miss a target the size of your mouth is beyond me!"

"Hey, calm down laundry girl, we were just messing around." Blaze chuckled. She looked to the other members of Blaze's party and saw that they all had similar stains on their clothing. They must have started a food fight while she was concentrating on her books.

"Laundry girl?" One of the other cadets asked. Zoey just cringed hearing this. She had a feeling it was no coincidence that Blaze had encouraged a food fight when he saw her.

"Yeah, don't you guys know? This here's the girl that keeps our whites white and our colours nice and crisp." He told them, eliciting a laugh from the others. "Hey, nice job on the pressing by the way. I did always wonder how you get those nice, sharp creases…then I remembered I don't have to do any pressing so I really don't care."

"You don't clean up after yourself, what a surprise." Zoey responded wearily, starting to gather up her books. Blaze came bounding over to her, barring her path.

"Not very sociable are you?" He asked. She just looked to him. "So, tell me, your work in the laundry, is that like a wax on, wax off training kind of thing? Because if it is then it really isn't working looking at your place on the rankings."

Zoey tensed up as she heard the others laughing and mocking her. She knew all too well that her scores on the league rankings weren't exactly spectacular. She was doing everything she could to improve. Nate had kindly offered to let her use the firing range any time he needed to work late, something he had to do quite a lot for some reason. She really did wonder why his bosses didn't do more of the late shifts. Roxy was helping her with her karate, even bumping her up another belt and she was studying like mad to get her reading up to speed, but she was still very close to the bottom of the table.

"Yeah, well some of us weren't born with a silver spoon up our asses!" She snapped at him. "Some of us actually had to work for everything we have!"

Blaze picked up a carton of grape juice. She just stood and watched as he considered it for a moment.

"Well, since you know so much about the subject…I've heard that this is quite hard to get out." He taunted her. "What would you do about it?"

"Well, the first thing is, in your case, I'd suggest putting it in a sippy cup since you seem to have the mentality of a toddler!" She replied. Blaze didn't see the funny side of that, and instead just squirted it all down his shirt.

"Now, would you look at that?" He asked. She just crossed her arms. "Now, how about you go and clean this up like a good little girl?"

"My shift is over." She told him. "But you can put it in the basket and it'll get cleaned…"

"But why do that when you're right here?" He asked her. He took off his shirt, flexing and posing as he did so. Zoey could hear some whistles from his entourage as he did so. He held out his shirt. "Go on, take it."

"Are you deaf or just stupid? I said my shift is over!" Zoey snapped at him. Blaze rammed it into her hands.

"Look, you can pretend, play at trying to be a Ranger all you want, but people like you? The fact is, sometimes in life, society just needs someone to clean up." Blaze told her. "Now, how about you be a good little girl and stop pretending you have a shot at being a Ranger and accept that you'll only ever be the one who cleans up afterwards?"

Zoey was about to answer, but she stopped stock still when she heard a sharp cough and someone appeared behind Blaze. He did too, and turned slowly around to see Commander Shaw standing behind him.

"C…C…Commander Shaw." He stammered, quickly standing to attention, as did everyone else in the room. Commander Shaw had only arrived at the tail end. She honestly didn't know what was going on, but she'd been in the military long enough to see enough bullying to know when someone was getting ganged up on.

"Mr Winchester. May I inquire as to exactly why you're in a state of undress?" She asked him.

"Uh…" He said as he tried to think. Blaze was a strong candidate, his scores spoke for themselves, only Ravi was beating him, but she hated the attitude he carried himself with. She was reminded of exactly who his parents were, and while she ultimately had no issue cutting him if she could legitimately say she believed he would be a threat to the team, she was balancing up more than a few things that other instructors were telling her. She could see that he was already getting a following from other cadets, and some had suggested his ego and his self-importance was leadership skills.

She couldn't argue that many of the cadets would probably follow him and he had been put in leadership positions in some exercises as had Ravi. As two of the strongest candidates, she wasn't just having to size them up as Rangers, but potential to actually lead the team as well. She did see her son as having the knowledge, experience and wisdom to know what to do and to give orders, but she did acknowledge her son could be stiff, and others did sometimes find it difficult to warm to him and go to him for guidance. Blaze, as abrasive and arrogant as he was did have a charisma that people looked to which she couldn't deny. She was worried, of course, about his attitude and how he would fare if he was challenged, something she wasn't sure wasn't happening with Zoey. She just glared at him waiting for his explanation.

"I…spilled something on my clothes." Blaze told her. "This…um…she…she works in the laundry, so I was giving her my clothes to take for cleaning."

"Really?" She asked, sounding completely unconvinced. She knew all too well that Blaze was the source of the rumours about her son, and while she couldn't prove anything, especially since he never made any direct accusations, she did see an opportunity. She folded her arms.

"Well, don't let me stop you." She told him. Blaze looked confused, and just pointed to the shirt in Zoey's arms. "Well? Go on!"

Blaze reluctantly started to undo his pants and pulled them down, taking them off and handing them to Zoey. Commander Shaw just raised her eyebrows.

"Are you done?" She asked him.

"Commander Shaw…"

"No, this is how you seem to think it is appropriate to deal with your laundry." Commander Shaw told him. "Or is something else going on here that will require a visit to the General?"

Blaze took a deep breath and took off his socks, handing them to Zoey, before turning back to Commander Shaw. She just coughed and flicked her eyes in the direction of his boxer shorts. Blaze gulped, but sheepishly removed them, leaving him standing completely naked in the middle of the mess hall with everyone watching. Blaze started to cover himself up.

"I'm sorry, did I dismiss you?" She asked, causing Zoey to start sniggering. Blaze by now was starting to go bright red. "TEN HUT!"

Blaze had little option but to stand to attention. He stood bolt upright, saluting her. The others were struggling to keep from laughing.

"Hey, I don't think he's quite to attention yet." Someone said. "It looks more like he's at ease."

"Anyone still here when I count to ten is doing 500 laps of the base." She told them. "DISMISSED!"

They all quickly scrambled from the room, all except for Zoey who she gestured to stay for a moment. Commander Shaw carefully picked up Blaze's underwear and handed it to her.

"Ms Reeves, please ensure that Mr Winchester's clothing is put in with the laundry. I'd hate to think he had too long to wait." She told her. Zoey scurried off, struggling to keep a straight face as she did so, leaving Commander Shaw alone with him. "As for you Mr Winchester…you just remain here at attention."

"For…for…how long?" He asked her. Commander Shaw took a step closer, right into his personal space and looked down her nose at him.

"Until I tell you to do otherwise." She replied, before turning on her heel and walking out. As she left, a smirk crossed her face. It wouldn't be the first time she'd had to knock some of the arrogance out of a recruit. The fact she enjoyed doing so was just a bonus.


	8. Follow The Heart

The alarm clock sounded and Blaze mashed his hand down on it to silence it. Waking up in a bed that was large enough to be considered a trampoline, covered in deep, burgundy silk bed clothing, he started to make his way to the edge of the bed. He got up, heading for the window and looked out over Coral Harbour. His family home up in the hills had a magnificent view over the city, somewhere that he and his family could look down all that was theirs, and one day, would be his by birthright!

His family was not just one of the richest in Coral Harbour, but the world. A few years ago, when Morph-X was in its early development stages, very few were willing to invest in it, preferring reliable investments like oil. What they didn't know was that as well as just an environmental consideration, there was another reason the Government was reaching out for private investors in Morph-X development. Fossil fuels were running dry. Unbeknownst to most to avoid a panic, the planet only had about a decade of most resources left before the breakthrough. The upshot was that only half a dozen families invested a majority share in Morph-X technology while most still thought of it as another environmental fad. By the time it rolled out, it was projected to end up replacing fossil fuels altogether and those same families now owned the controlling share of the market on the sole energy resource on the planet. Blaze's family was one of those families. The Winchesters, once again, would be on the ground floor of the industry that would run the world!

The Ranger program had now been running for close to six months, coming close to the half-way point, and the field was being culled more and more each day. He had little to worry about, he was one of the top-scoring recruits across the board, but his father didn't become the man he was by being 'one of' the best in his business, he got there by being the smartest, most cunning, most capable, and when the occasion came for it, most cut-throat person in any room. He had learned long ago that talent and hard work spoke loudly, but the thing that really spoke volumes, was position and power. He didn't just want to be a Ranger; he wanted to be the Red Ranger, the leader, the one at the very top. Taking orders was never something he was brought up to do, and he didn't plan on starting when he was a Ranger.

He went down the hall to his own home gym to begin his morning routine that always started at around 5AM. It was fully equipped with the latest top-of-the-range exercise technology, including a holographic sparring program that allowed him to practice at home to keep him nice and sharp. The gym was also lined with trophies all along the shelves high above the floor. He'd been put into Karate by his parents at a young age to hone his wits, discipline and killer instinct. Things his parents always believed would serve him well when he inherited the family business that they had built from the ground up by seizing every opportunity by the throat. By the time he was ten he was already a black belt, and by now, he had won dozens of Regional and State championships and had retained the World Championship in his weight category and the open weight category for the last four consecutive years.

His workout always ended with a steam, a spin in a Jacuzzi, a rubdown from a robotic machine, and a shower. He went into his walk in closet, which was larger than many people's apartments and picked out his outfit for the day, some designer jeans and a T-shirt, and a custom made leather jacket. By the time he got to the kitchen, his robotic butler had already fixed his breakfast. He took a cold glass of OJ from its hands.

"Master Blaze, would you like to know the morning headlines?" The butler asked.

"Do I ever?" He snorted. The butler just took his glass as he finished with it, before starting on his cereal. He really didn't care much what was going on in the world beyond his own home. It wasn't his problem if someone else hadn't figured out how to make their own life a success. "What's on the schedule?"

"Your Karate class this Evening." The robot butler informed him.

"Any calls from my folks?" Blaze asked.

"Your father just wanted to call and ask when the graduation ceremony is." The butler asked. Blaze's parents were on a business trip as usual, leaving the mansion all to Blaze. He smirked.

"I have to be chosen first." He chuckled. "So…end of the month if there's any justice, but I guess they have to let the others think they have a shot. Anyway, time I was going. Clean that up will you?"

"Very good sir." The butler responded. Blaze headed outside and mounted his motorcycle, before starting up and gunning the engine, weaving through traffic, completely ignoring the enraged horns blaring. He just smiled as he passed by a patrol car, which didn't even bother to turn on its lights. Even if they did catch him, all the cops knew his motorcycle. No one was dumb enough to try and pull over a Winchester, much less give them a ticket.

At the base, Zoey was just finishing up her shift and heading back to her dorm to get changed when she almost bumped into Nate. He was carrying a rabbit in a cage, and had to move quickly to keep from dropping it.

"Wow, we really need to stop meeting like this." Zoey commented.

"It would probably be for the best." Nate said in a nervous little laugh. Zoey's eyes suddenly grew wide and she looked to the cage.

"Aw, she is adorable!" She commented. "Is she yours?"

"Not exactly, he's a test subject." Nate told her.

"Test subject?" She asked. "Right, you were doing something with animals weren't you? Um...please tell me you did that...thing on him and didn't..."

"No, he hasn't had so much as a single piece of fur removed." Nate assured her. He'd quickly figured out that Zoey really loved animals. He could only imagine what kind of monster she'd think he was if he was harming the test subjects in his lab, and the last thing he'd ever want is for Zoey to never speak to him again, even if she did think his IQ had to be somewhere in the single-figure range thanks to the fact he seemed to completely lose the ability to speak like a functioning human being around her.

"What an adorable little rabbit." She commented.

"Jackrabbit." He corrected her. "It's a kind of hare technically."

"Oh, well, I guess I got that one wrong too. Sorry little guy." She said, reaching through the bars and stroking him gently.

"Say, I'm actually done with him, I was going to take him back to the woods to release him." Nate told her. "You wouldn't like to go with me would you?"

"I'd love to, really I would!" She gushed. "But I...really need to shower and change. Commander Shaw's written me up twice already, and just between you and me...I think the General doesn't really like me too much."

"Really?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, I just kind of see him glaring at me at times." Zoey told him. "I don't know, I'm probably just being paranoid. Anyway, I really need to go."

"Alright, I'll see you later!" Nate called out, waving as she left. "And...she probably thinks I'm a lunatic."

As he was about to leave, he felt an arm around his shoulders and someone pulled him around.

"Hey there, it's...Nate, right?" Roxy asked him.

"Uh...yeah?" He said as she started to walk with him. "I was actually going..."

"Oh, you don't need to worry, this won't take long." She assured him as she walked with him. "So, you and Zoey, you're both friends right?"

"I...guess so?" He said a little nervously, not knowing where this was going.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She replied. "Now, here's the thing. A little while back, Zoey found a little present addressed to her from a friend. You...wouldn't know anything about that right?"

"No, why would I?" Nate stammered out, hoping that somehow his brain would start to work. He had no idea how he was able to beat the Deep Blue chess programme before he was fourteen but somehow speaking to a girl was the most complicated thing in the world.

"Really? You don't know about the present?" She asked him. "That's a shame, because I think it was a really sweet thing someone did for her."

"I suppose." Nate gulped. "I really should be..."

"Come on, let's walk and talk Nate. You're fine with that right?" She asked, but she didn't wait for him to answer. "Good. Now, here's the thing. The present was addressed from a friend, so naturally Zoey thought it was from me. I didn't correct her because, well, how would she believe me when I didn't know who did leave it? But anyway, that's not important. What is important is I started to think, a friend? Now, who is friends with Zoey on this base other than me?"

"Lots of people." Nate rushed out. She just shook her head.

"Now, that's not quite right now is it?" She asked. "I mean, she SHOULD have loads of friends around here, she is such a sweetheart. So kind and funny and always helping others, but we both know that the whole competition's starting to get really George R R Martin around here isn't it?"

"I suppose that's true." Nate said a little nervously.

"Now, like I said, I was trying to think who are her friends. Now, Ben and Betty, she's always hanging around with them..."

"That's it!" Nate rushed out. "It must be Ben or Betty! That's it!"

"I don't know, I'm not so sure." Roxy replied, tapping her chin with a finger thoughtfully. "I don't really think it's the kind of thing they would give someone..."

"They're the General's kids; they would easily have access to the books!" Nate blurted out. Roxy just stopped.

"I...never said that the gift was books." She told him. Nate just wanted to drop dead right then and there. She had completely caught him with that one. There was no point in trying to deny it now.

"Look, I only wanted to..." He started to say, before Roxy came around in front of him, squealing a little excitedly and clapping. "Um...what are you...?"

"I was right! I was so right!" Roxy gushed. "I've seen you talking to her; you are totally into her aren't you?"

"What?" He said nervously. "I...I..."

"Nate, relax, really!" She told him. She put her arm around him again and started walking with him. "Look, I'll tell you what. How about you ask one of the sixty or seventy thousand other lab types to cover for you for a little while and head to Riptide this evening, say around about six o'clock?"

"I...well I should...huh?" He asked.

"I'm taking Zoey through some lessons." She told him. "A 'friend' might just happen to be there and we do work up quite a thirst."

"You're...You want me to...huh?" Nate asked.

"I'm going a little fast for you? Alright, I'll slow it down then." Roxy told him, pulling in close and whispering to him. "Be at the gym. Think you can manage that?"

Nate just nodded. Roxy smiled and started to walk away.

"Oh, and lose the rabbit!" She told him. Nate just stood still for several minutes, while the rest of the world continued around him. He just blinked as he tried to process everything.

"It's a jackrabbit." He finally found himself able to say.

Roxy spent the whole day with Zoey between training and classes. While they were still strictly speaking competing, Roxy wasn't taking things to quite the same bloodthirsty levels as some of the others. By now people were starting to realise that those other students around them might be the one obstacle between them and becoming a Ranger and now, things were starting to get a lot less friendly. People were reporting disciplinary infractions far more frequently, pointing out flaws in procedures, failings and stumbles in training...people were desperate to find ways to thin the herd. To Roxy though, she had always believed in just concentrating on her own performance and if she passed or failed, she would do so on her own, rather than try to get others cut to lower the bar.

"Alright, I thought today would never end!" Roxy exclaimed as the class ended and they all started to gather their things. She leaned over to Zoey. "You still on for our lesson?"

"Absolutely." Zoey responded. "I just need to check on the laundry and then I'll meet you there."

"Cool, catch you there!" Roxy said, giving her a finger-gun greeting. She watched Zoey leave and started to get excited. She was a romantic by nature, and she had noticed Nate and Zoey talking and seen him looking at her a few times. It was just so cute watching him, but she just felt like maybe with a gentle nudge in the right direction, maybe she could make him feel a little more comfortable around Zoey, perhaps even comfortable enough to actually meet her outside of the base.

She just needed to deal with the second part of her plan, getting Ravi to come too. She thought that with more than just her and Zoey there, maybe the whole thing would seem a lot less like a set-up and a little more casual. She was about to head over to Ravi when she saw some other cadets surrounding him.

"Well, look what we have here, yet another A+. Isn't that a coincidence?" One of them said, looking at a test paper he'd had returned to him.

"Give that back." Ravi warned him.

"Why? You don't need it; mommy will probably just give you another one!" One of the others teased him.

"I said, give it back!" Ravi snapped at him.

"Dude, you should give it back." One of the others chuckled. "You wouldn't want him to tell his mom on you."

"I don't need my mom to mop the floor with..."

"Hey!" Roxy interrupted, inserting herself between the two sides. "Do you geniuses only have one joke? Because if you're not smart enough to think for another, I really wonder how you're going to last here."

"Please, we all know this guy's cruising his way on his name!" One of them complained.

"Come here and say..."

"RAVI!" Roxy called out, getting right into his face. "Don't give him the satisfaction, he's not worth it!"

Ravi just grabbed the rest of his things and stormed out of the class. Roxy followed him outside. By the time she got to him, he looked ready to explode. There were veins popping up in his neck and head she had never seen before.

"Ravi, calm..."

"What's it going to TAKE?" He yelled at her. "I give and I give and I work and I do everything right and no matter what happens those assholes STILL think I'm only here because of my mom!"

"They're just jealous because you're kicking their ass! You're top of the class by a country mile!" She protested.

"That doesn't matter to them!" Ravi yelled at her.

"And that's the reaction they're going for! They know you're kicking their asses so they're trying to get you to throw it away!" Roxy tried to reason with him. She came closer, looking into his eyes. "Ravi, look at me...this...this is what they want."

"They won't want it when they wake up..."

"And you'll feel great about it for about ten minutes until the General kicks you out!" She reminded him. "Ravi...don't give them what they want."

He started to take slow, deep breaths. He hated feeling this way. He knew that she was right, that there were some of the cadets trying to get others cut so that they could get an easier route to the team. But no matter how many times he reminded himself, whenever they started their routine, he had to struggle not to give in to his desire to show them exactly why what his years of training could do.

"Look, let's just...take a break OK?" She asked him. "That girl I've been giving pointers to, Zoey? She's meeting me at the gym for another lesson. I was thinking maybe she's ready for some pointers from someone else?"

"I don't know..."

"We're going to work out then get some drinks." Roxy told him. "Come on, it'll be fun. It'll give you some time to forget all those dicks and just relax. Have a little fun?"

"Thanks, but I really don't feel like I'll be much fun right now." Ravi told her. "I think I'm just going to work out on my own."

"You shouldn't..."

"You know nothing relaxes me more than a good sweat." Ravi told her. "I'm just going to train, I promise."

"Well...OK, and if you feel like joining us..."

"I won't, but I appreciate it." He said, reaching to her, stroking her hair gently. "You're amazing, you know that, right?"

"I do." She said with a little smile. With that, he pulled her in, kissing her softly, before walking away.

Up in her office, Commander Shaw was looking out of the window, watching her son and Roxy. She took a long sip of coffee, before heading to her desk.

Later that evening, Blaze arrived outside Riptide Gym a short time later, speeding his motorcycle right onto the sidewalk outside, blocking the bike rack. The local parking attendants knew exactly who the bike belonged to and that it was more than their careers were worth trying to give him a ticket. Blaze strode inside, pulling off his helmet as he went.

He smiled as he saw Ravi was working on some Kata. Even now, in his own little head space, he could see the frustration in Ravi. Every move was like he was trying to destroy an invisible opponent. He knew that Ravi was easily the biggest competition for the Red Ranger position. He really didn't care too much whether or not Ravi ended up making it onto the team, though the thought of Ravi having to salute him did give him a little bit of a kick.

On another mat, Roxy appeared to be taking another student through some exercises, standing by a frame holding a board and explaining how to perform a destruction technique. Ravi and Roxy were, alongside him, the strongest contenders for the Ranger program. They also helped him run the Karate classes at the gym.

He recognised the girl Roxy was working with, the laundry girl. At least, that was what she was to him. She was on the program but she was one of those scholarship types that places needed to hire to be seen to be "fair" to everyone in society. She was barely scraping together passable grades because she also worked full time in the laundry in addition to her training. He didn't know why Roxy wasted time working with her. First of all, she was competition, someone that could take her place if the rankings really changed in the next couple of months. He was also still a little sore about the fact she'd gotten him into trouble with the Commander. He was a lot more careful with his behaviour now, but he could still remember the humiliation of being made to stand naked in the canteen until she dismissed him two hours later. He hadn't pursued the matter, knowing better than to risk running afoul of the Commander again but he did have it in the back of his mind to find a way to make her pay for that.

He noticed another of the Grid Battleforce staff a little way off, Nate. The kid with the glasses he always saw following around the Commander like a little puppy. He was wearing gym gear, but was sitting with some paperwork in front of him. Blaze didn't know why he pretended he was at the gym to do anything of value; he could see that he was spending the whole time staring at Laundry Girl. With a smirk on his face, he headed over, scattering the papers on the floor.

"OOPS!" He said insincerely as Nate threw his hands up.

"You did that on purpose!" Nate protested. Blaze just laughed.

"Oh, what is this, the third grade?" Blaze asked him.

"That would require you could get past the third grade without your mom and dad paying off your teachers!" Nate snapped back. Blaze suddenly tensed up.

"What's that meant to mean!"

"Leave him alone Blaze!" Zoey said as she came over. She and Roxy had seen the incident from across the gym. Zoey had taken it upon herself to intervene and Roxy wasn't exactly quick to stop her.

"I don't recall this being any of your business." Blaze stated, shoving a hand in her face. "Do you think you're important? You're just some scrawny little dweeb Commander Shaw feels sorry for!"

"Blaze!" Roxy protested. He just scoffed and ignored her.

"You know what? You probably think just because you run numbers or polish blasters or do maintenance or something that you're a big thing don't you?" Blaze snapped. "I'm going to be a Ranger! You're just going to be polishing my boots!"

"Blaze, leave him alone!" Zoey protested again. Nate though couldn't take any joy in seeing her standing to his defence. He liked her, and he wanted her to see him as...well...he didn't really know what he wanted her to see him as, but as the scrawny kid she had to rescue from a bully? He wasn't exactly a chest-beating "alpha", whatever nonsense that was meant to mean, but even he had a little bit of pride and right now, he didn't feel in the slightest bit impressive.

"It's OK Zoey." Nate replied, before looking to Blaze and laughing. "Wait, do you really think I work maintenance?"

"Or research or something, what do I care?" Blaze asked. Nate just shook his head and started gathering his paperwork. "That's right, just run off…it's not like you'd be prepared to back up that smart mouth of yours is it?"

"Blaze…at least PART of me is smart." Nate replied. "Which is more than I can say about you!"

As he walked away, Roxy turned Blaze towards her.

"What?" He asked.

"Blaze, why did you have to be an asshole to Nate?" Roxy asked him. "He never did anything to you."

"So?" He asked in response.

"So, you don't even know who he is! Hell, I'm not sure I've ever said more than a few words to him either." Roxy told him. "You have no idea what he's capable of!"

"Yeah, and I don't care either." He replied arrogantly. "Now, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Blaze, I was just thinking, Zoey's been doing really well in my classes lately." Roxy told him. "I thought she might benefit from taking some of yours."

"Really?" He asked, folding his arms and staring down at her. "What do you think?"

"I think I like a challenge." Zoey replied. She knew Roxy had said she had an idea to help her, but she didn't know this was what she had in mind. Although she couldn't deny Blaze's talent, she didn't exactly feel like he was exactly the kind of instructor that she wanted. He just looked down at her gi.

"Tell me, that belt you're wearing. Is it black or brown?" He asked her.

"No." Zoey said. "But I'm about to sit a grading…"

"Sorry laundry girl, but my class is an advanced class." Blaze interrupted her. He had no interest or patience in teaching beginners. His class was strictly the advanced class; he had Blaze and Roxy work with anyone below a brown belt. He patted her on the head. "Come back when you're worth my time."

"Jerk!" Zoey snapped. Blaze just turned back.

"Oh, and when you're washing my uniforms, use a little less starch. My collar got kind of itchy last week." He taunted her. "Maybe if you spent less time pretending to be more than you are and were a little more like the dweeb, you'd actually do your own job right."

Just then, there was a loud crash. They all turned towards the frame, finding the pieces of the board on the floor, but no one in sight. Blaze walked over to it, picking up the pieces, before turning to the class.

"Who did that?" He demanded. "I asked who did that."

No one answered. Blaze just threw the pieces aside.

"I'm going to get changed." He told them. "Warm up, I want everyone on the mats in five minutes!"

From his spot just by the door, Nate watched Blaze storm into the changing rooms with a little smirk on his face, before blowing on his knuckles, turning and heading out the door.

Meanwhile, back in Grid Battleforce, Commander Shaw went into General Burke's office. He was just finishing up a phone call when she got there.

"I'm sorry to disturb..."

"No, that's fine; we've been friends far too long. You know my door's always open." He assured her. "What can I help you with?"

"I just wanted to make you aware of some amendments I wanted to make to the Grid Battleforce handbook." She told him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Just some regulations I thought might need a little tightening." She told him. "I know it'll be a while before our chosen Rangers have to follow any of these rules, but I thought I should get an early start."

"This could have waited until..." He said, flicking through the book. "I'm sorry, I...I'm not seeing any amendments."

"Right here." She said, turning to one page and pointing out one paragraph. General Burke read it, but then kind of screwed his eyes up a little as he read it again, then once more just to be sure.

"In the interests of team unity, as well as to ensure that all Rangers adhere strictly to the priority of life protocols, fraternization between Rangers is strictly prohibited. The penalty for violation of this will be summary dismissal." He looked to her and furrowed his brows. "You wish to forbid Rangers from dating?"

"I believe there is precedent." She told him. "The team will need to abide by very strict priority of life protocols. Do we really want to risk one of the team rushing to protect a partner and leaving civilians to be harmed?"

"I suppose I never considered putting it in writing." He said, before getting his pen and signing it. "Very well, I'll have admin make the appropriate amendment."

Commander Shaw watched him signing the amendment, and a part of her instantly regretted her decision. She loved her son, but she had seen him torture himself to try and prove himself to people that would never believe he had earned his place. She saw how miserable it made him, but in one brief moment, one fleeting second, she had seen something that she always wanted for him. With Roxy, she had seen true joy in his face.

She knew that her son would never quit of his own accord, and she hated the thought of him working every day and being miserable. But she thought she might have just found a way to save him from a life that would slowly destroy every ounce of happiness in his life.

After all, being a Ranger? That might last a few years. True love? That could last a lifetime, and who could blame him for choosing that?


	9. Hobbies

Morning rolled around and Roxy woke up in her room. While they were few and far between, even Grid Battleforce did give people days off, though in the case of cadets, strictly speaking they were considered study days. With so much coursework, training and suchlike to pull together. Lecture notes to be written up, assignments to be completed, and the training facilities such as the gyms and firing range were open all day for the cadets to use. Of course, when you had a bunch of people who were working and studying all day, most of whom also lived on-site, trying to tell them it wasn't a day off was an exercise in futility.

She was enjoying the novelty of a long lie in when there was a knock on the door. She just groaned and pulled the covers over her head, but whoever was outside was persistent and kept knocking. Eventually she had to get up, her duvet wrapped around her and shuffled to the door, opening it up with her eyes barely open. She found Benny standing outside the door, holding a package.

"Uhhh." She grunted. Benny was shifting nervously, trying to look anywhere except for Roxy. While she was covering up, he still felt more than a little uncomfortable seeing her before she'd gotten dressed.

"I have a package for Zoey." He muttered, speaking into his chest to try and avoid looking at her. He and Betty had been cut from the program a while back now, but they were determined to help out in any way they can. Quite literally any way. They had been kept on, but they didn't really have a job title so much as they just kind of worked wherever they were needed. Mostly it was just filling in for people who were otherwise engaged or doing whatever jobs had fallen so far down most people's to-do list because they were so terrible no one wanted to do them that eventually someone just had to do it. Right now, his sister was on the security desk, while he was doing the mail run. Roxy just grunted and took the package off him. "I need a signature to…oh OK!" Roxy had disappeared back into the room and shut the door before he could get her to sign to confirm the package had been received. He just picked up his mail bag and continued around the base, intending to come back for the signature later.

Roxy put the package down on the desk, before returning to her bed, flopping face-down onto it. She checked her watch and groaned. It was already almost midday. Even she couldn't justify sleeping in all day, even if it was a day off. She instead was grateful that the mess was about to start serving lunch and went to hit the shower.

Over in the laundry, Zoey was utilising her day off for another reason. Just like when she was back in High School, she never really could afford days off, and while she did have studying to do, she couldn't turn down the opportunity to do extra shifts whenever they were offered, and the laundry department was one of the departments with the highest instance of injury and sick days on the base. The combination of machines and chemicals was one that did lead to a surprising number of accidents considering the fact they were on a base where people were regularly training with live weaponry.

She finished loading another machine, before slamming shut the door and wiping off her forehead. After starting it up, she checked her watch, but found that it was saying that it was only eight o'clock. She started tapping it and shaking it, but it wouldn't move. She just rolled her eyes, before pulling out her cell phone and checking the time on that. Midday, perfect, lunch time! She slapped the side of the machine and headed out of the laundry, heading for the mess hall.

Nate was in the mess hall, having his lunch. While most people were more than happy to eat the food from the mess hall, but he still had a habit of making his own. It wasn't that he had any particular problem with the meals in the mess hall, Grid Battleforce did operate as a military site and so they knew the value of making sure their workers had access to good nutrition, he was something of a paranoid and picky person when it came to what went into his body. The downside of having earned a PhD in Chemistry and Biology before most people were even thinking about their driving test was he was more than aware of what the chemicals used in a lot of food production could do to the human body and it had given him a little bit of a phobia of not knowing what people were doing to his food, so he tended to prefer being given the ingredients and making his own.

He wasn't much of a chef, but he was more than capable of making a salad and a sandwich. He was just contentedly eating his lunch while he checked something on his tablet.

"Hey, Nate, there you are! Mind if I sit down?" Roxy asked him.

"Well…I…"

"Thanks!" Roxy replied, before sitting down with him. He just sighed. He was starting to think he preferred it when the military types didn't really care who the 'lab rats' were and would just leave him alone. "Dude, what the hell was that last night?"

"What was what?" He asked her.

"You totally bailed!" Roxy told him.

"I didn't bail, I just didn't want to be somewhere I was being made fun of." Nate told her. He hadn't had much experience with bullies. His parent found most schools couldn't really challenge his intellect and had put him into home-schooling at a young age, but even he understood the nature of what bullying was. He didn't have anything to prove to Blaze, and he really didn't care what Blaze thought about him, but he did care what Zoey thought. She was kind enough to come to his defence, but while it was flattering, all he could think was that she thought he was someone that needed to be looked after, to be protected. He wanted her to see him as…well…he wasn't sure how he wanted her to see him, but not like that anyway.

"You mean Blaze? Nate, he's just an asshole, he always has been." Roxy told him. "What do you care what he thinks?"

"I don't." He huffed.

"Then why leave? Why give him that satisfaction?" Roxy asked in response as she took a mouthful of pasta. "You know, there was a time he started up on me, you know what I did?"

Nate just shrugged. He didn't really feel like hearing some inspirational tale of standing up to bullies. He was well aware of the fact that while Blaze was an accomplished martial artist, he was no slouch himself. His parents did always like him to keep healthy, and he had always been a fan of the Power Rangers stories his dad told him as a kid, so he did take lessons. It also meant he was able to check the calibrations on his VR training devices himself and get direct data rather than second-hand accounts from others that he would have to interpret. He had broken the boards, as much to let out a little frustration as to annoy Blaze. If Blaze had wanted to try anything, then he was perfectly sure that he'd at very least give him something to think about. She seemed to take the hint and just backed off.

"Say, what's this you're looking up?" She asked, taking the tablet off him.

"Hey, that's…"

"Hydro-worm?" She asked. "Wait…Hydro-worm? As in that cheesy, cheap horror franchise?"

"I…I like the story-telling." He said to her.

"Story-telling?" She asked disbelievingly. "It's hardly the Iliad."

"It's a really good, structured, tight story-driven narrative…"

"About a worm that grows to over two thousand tons because it ate irradiated lettuce?" She asked.

"Well…one of the finest horror stories ever written was a story about a possessed Plymouth Fury." Nate pointed out.

"Tell me, how did they beat the worm in the last one again?" She asked him.

"Well, they put together this huge pile of rotting vegetables in which they hid a pile of C4 and…" He said, at which Roxy just put her chin on her hand and looked at him. He just tailed off. "OK, so…they're silly but they're fun! I spend all day every day using my brain, it feels good to turn it off once in a while."

"And boy do you have to turn your brain off to watch those…HEY! ZOEY! OVER HERE!"

Nate almost fell out his seat with how loudly Roxy yelled, but as Zoey came over, she noticed Nate was sitting there and became a little hesitant.

"Hey…there." She said as he put away his tablet. He had already had to justify his love of cheap horror movies once today; he really didn't want to have to do it again. Zoey leaned in and whispered to Roxy. "Roxy, what is he doing here?"

"Nate and I were just chatting…"

"Roxy, I haven't showered or anything, I look gross!" She told her. Roxy just took Zoey's tray from her and put it down.

"So, nice day in the laundry?" She asked.

"As nice as it ever is." Zoey muttered, sitting down, keeping her eyes on Nate, who seemed to be looking away from her, concentrating on his food. "Maybe I should take this to my room and…"

"No, no, sit! Sit and enjoy this wonderful pasta!" Roxy told her, slapping her on the back, before looking to her hand and wiping it off on her jeans. "So, I heard from a little birdie that they're putting together some kind of review panel for the final couple of months of the program."

"Panel?" Zoey asked. "I thought Commander Shaw and the General…"

"No, apparently they're getting some kind of experts in to help out." Roxy told her. "Something about 'relevant experience' or something."

"Wait…how do YOU know about that?" Nate asked. Both Roxy and Zoey looked straight at him, making him want to kick himself. He had just confirmed the rumour.

"More importantly, how do YOU know that?" Roxy asked him. Nate just breathed a sigh, before he signalled them both in closer. They both leaned in.

"Because I'm pretty involved in the running of this place." He told them.

"You work in the lab." Roxy stated. He just shook his head.

"I do slightly more than that." He told them. "I kind of…I'm…I'm the one that discovered Morph-X."

Roxy just spluttered and laughed a little hearing this.

"Dude, seriously, I've heard some lines but you expect us to believe you were the one that discovered Morph-X?" She asked.

"What do you think Nate is short for?" He asked her. "My name's Nathaniel Silva."

Both girls simultaneously dropped their cutlery. His family closely guarded him, not even allowing the press to get pictures of their son, but the name Nathaniel Silva had been widely published in relation to Morph-X and the related technology. He was on the cusp of creating the technology that would completely revolutionise not just the energy industry, but the entire planet. If it took off, which everyone expected it would, the motor industry, public transportation, air travel, space travel, electronics, engineering…pretty much everything would switch to Morph-X overnight. His discovery was, without exaggeration, probably the most revolutionary discovery since splitting the atom.

"You're Nathaniel Silva?" Zoey gulped.

"I prefer Nate." He told her. "And…yeah…and before you ask, that's why I don't advertise the fact."

"Dude, if you wanted to shut Blaze up, just tell him that pretty much everything here is down to you!" Roxy exclaimed.

"And that again is exactly why I don't!" Nate replied. "Look, can the two of you not say anything?"

"Sure thing." Zoey assured him. With that, Nate gathered up his things.

"I should probably get back to the lab." Nate told them. "And…try not to tell anyone about the panel alright?"

"Sure thing." Roxy said with a little nod. As he left, they just watched him go.

"Nate is Nathaniel Silva?" Zoey gasped.

"You're a fan?" She asked.

"You have no idea!" Zoey asked. "The Silvas are going to save the world! They're at the forefront of every environmental development in the scientific community!"

"And…you're a science nerd?" Roxy asked.

"No, I'm an environmentalist." She corrected her. "It's the main reason I chose this place to work…I heard the name but…I had no idea Nathaniel Silva was our age."

"Well, it appears so." Roxy said. "You…you can close your mouth any time by the way."

"Yeah, sorry." Zoey responded, turning her attention back to her lunch. "God, Nathaniel Silva…I must have sounded like such an idiot all those times I talked to him. 'Do you harm the animals' yeah, like Nathaniel Silva would ever do something like that."

Roxy just watched as Zoey went back to eating, and a little bit of a smirk started to cross her face.

"So, want to do a cram session later?" Roxy asked her. "You know, once you get off shift?"

"Sure, why not?" Zoey replied with a shrug.

In another part of the city, a kid walked in with his friends. The lights flashed and noise blared in an assault on the senses that made some people steer clear, especially in a day and age where online games and home consoles made video arcades all but obsolete, but as he stepped in and breathed in deeply the slightly stale, musty air with just a hint of collective body odour and cheap fried food, all Devon Daniels could feel was that he had come home.

Devon walked through, accepting handshakes, high-fives and bro-hugs from people as he went. Devon was something of a celebrity in the world of gaming, especially in his home city of Coral Harbour. For some people, gaming was a hobby, something they could pick up and put down whenever they got a passing interest. For others, it was an obsession, something that if they were able to, if they didn't have to worry about things like bills and jobs, they would happily spend every minute of every day doing. Some even managed this, in the way of live-streaming and monetised gaming accounts, but to Devon, it was something else entirely. It was his own little world, somewhere he always felt like he could come home.

He was a gifted gamer; he had been ever since the day his dad hooked up a Nintendo just to show him what kids his age used to do for fun. Since then, Devon was hooked! He loved finding a new game to test his skills on. Puzzles, strategies…while some saw computer games as just a dumb thing for people with no attention span, he saw challenges that were every bit as keen a test of the mind as chess or sudoku. Only…with a little bit more colour and noise.

"Hey man, how's it going?" One of his friends, Mike, greeted him with a bro-hug as he got there. "You been getting your rest in?"

"Hey, you know it man, I wasn't even thinking about getting out of bed before noon." Devon responded with a chuckle. He and Mike leaned against a machine and looked out over the arcade. He was up for a tournament on one of the newest games, the latest in the long-running tournament fighting series 'Psycho Burner IX'. It was a game that made headlines all over the nation for its over-the-top and graphic fantasy violence. Characters would regularly bleed far more blood than it was physically possible for any human body to even hold, and there were moves hidden in the program for the canny player that were not just finishers that could be pulled off at the end of the bout, but could actually end the bout in a ridiculously barbaric death move that left a dismembered corpse all over the arena even in the middle of a bout. The game was only just getting released today, so the strategy guides weren't online or out in stores yet, but as a promotion, the developers were holding competitions for gamers to take part in tournaments in their local arcades for prizes. Devon had spent some time preparing mentally, getting down particular button combinations and joystick moves that did special moves in other games in the hopes of finding moves in a game for which no one else knew any of the moves yet. "So, what's the competition looking like?"

"Well, we've got Southside. You know that dude's always bringing his a-game." Mike said, pointing to another guy with a similar crew. Unlike Devon, he had his own merchandise, wearing a leather jacket with his name on it, and was actually signing autographs. Southside had a highly successful gaming livestream from which he earned his living, getting advertising revenue and games developers regularly sent him their products for free so he could demonstrate them to his millions of followers. Devon had suggested to his dad that he could easily do the same since Southside had actually lost to him in quite a few tournaments. His dad, of course, turned him down flat on that suggestion. He was all about getting a 'real career' as he put it. Now that Devon was out of high school, he wanted to know when he was going to college, or when he was getting a job. He knew his dad loved him, he even had plenty of money and had promised to back any college course he wanted to go to, but for Devon, all he could think was why was there any hurry? The odds were he'd be working until he was in his seventies, so why did he need to make the decision what he wanted to do with his entire life right now? Was it really such a bad thing to just find something he liked now and doing it until he decided he wanted to do something else?

"I didn't doubt he'd be here. I'd have been surprised if he wasn't." Devon answered. "You entering?"

"Naw, the Green Bear is sitting this one out." Mike chuckled. "I stopped following the Psycho Burner series after they killed off Overdrive. That girl was my go-to character!"

"I do see a few familiar faces…" He started to say, before he heard a commotion a little way off. He and Mike both turned to look, seeing a group of guys hanging around a machine, giving the girl playing it a hard time. Mike and Devon both looked at each other and just nodded, before moving in.

"Come on, move off that machine, it's embarrassing seeing you here!" One of the guys called out. "You know these games ain't made for people like you."

"I'd say they aren't made for people like you." Devon said as he and Mike stepped in. "Given the fact that girl's score is higher than yours by…wow, four places? That is such an embarrassing margin!"

"Hey, no one asked you!" The guy snapped.

"We're all gamers here." Mike chipped in. "Well, some of us are, but the way you guys shoot on this game? I'm not sure what the hell to call it."

"Christ, looks like we got us a couple of white knighters." Another member of the group said.

"White Knight?" Devon asked, looking between himself and Mike. They both spluttered a little, before doubling over laughing.

"Are you…are you serious right now?" Devon said, wiping away some tears. "Dude, that Gamergate thing was dead and buried long ago! The minute you start spouting those nonsense, meaningless terms you realise you just make it clear your point of view isn't worth listening to, right? The whole gatekeeper bullshit is as dead as Overdrive!"

"DUDE!" Mike protested. "I'm still in mourning about that!"

"Sorry." Devon replied, fist-bumping Mike.

"You're just an SJW…"

"And you're a tea cosy." Mike replied. All of the guys just looked confused. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I thought we were just throwing random, meaningless words at each other."

"You should have stayed out of this." One of them said. Mike and Devon could see them closing in, they were ready for this, but as they did, others started to come around the machines. Now, they could see that there were in fact about eight of them. Devon and Mike started to back up.

"What's the matter? Scared?" One of them asked.

"No, just getting a little room!" Mike called out, before somersaulting forward and hitting a kick right across his shoulder, tearing it out. Devon rushed in to the attack as well, quickly levelling one of the guys with a hard elbow. Mike was something of a mentor to Devon, not just in the arcade, but in life too. His family had apparently been practicing Martial Arts almost since birth as a family tradition now for more generations than any of them really knew. Devon thought it was awesome the first time he saw Mike take down a guy who made the mistake of trying to lift the stack of quarters Mike had on the machine he was playing on. As soon as Mike told him he could teach him to fight like a video game character…Devon was sold!

Mike had given Devon Martial Arts lessons now for a good couple of years, and Devon was, if anything, as gifted with that as he was at gaming. Between the two of them, they very quickly got the upper hand. Before long, no one cared about any of the games and were instead cheering on the real-life video game characters beating the holy living hell out of a couple of guys that had given a lot of the people there a hard time at one point or another.

As Devon levelled the last of them, putting him down with a harsh kick to the side of his face, he stood over him.

"Asshole, don't you get it? THIS is the kind of bullshit that kills gaming!" Devon yelled at him. "You think every kid that comes in here needs to 'prove' to you that they're a real gamer? Well guess what? EVERYONE that likes games is a gamer! Everyone picked up their first game once and…"

"Uh…Devon?" Mike said. "He's already unconscious, he can't hear you."

"Alright, everyone break it up!" A cop called out as they stormed into the arcade. "Alright, what happened here?"

"It's alright officer, we're fine…"

"Yeah, but they're not!" The cop replied. "The two of you, turn around, hands behind your back."

"Looks like Southside just got this one in the bag." Devon sighed as they both turned around and knelt down, putting their hands behind their backs.

Back at Grid Battleforce, Zoey had finished her shift and headed back to the dorm, finding Roxy with her books out, already preparing notes.

"Hey there." Roxy greeted her. "So, you want to eat first or…?"

"No, first I want a shower, because right now I feel like my bodyweight is about 90 percent sweat." She said as she headed to her room.

"I'll put on a couple of cup noodles anyway." Roxy told her. "Oh, by the way, a package came for you! I put it in your room, hope you don't mind."

"Roxy, I'm not a charity case, I have my own…"

"Now, this one isn't from me, it has a return address and everything!" She assured her. Zoey finished up with her shower and got changed while Roxy made up a couple of cup noodles for them. She almost spilled them everywhere when she heard a shriek from Zoey's room.

"What?" Roxy called out, running in. "Is everything…?"

"It came, it came, it FINALLY came!" Zoey squealed as she opened the parcel. "My mom promised she'd forward this as soon as it got in. I've been waiting for this for ages!"

She had unpacked the box all over her bed. Roxy just looked at what she saw.

"You're…you're kidding right?" Roxy asked.

"I would NEVER kid about Nikki Reve!" Zoey said as she pulled on a t-shirt. "Hydro-worm three, the revenge of Hydro-worm!"

"DVD's and…even the poster. You are serious." Roxy said as she forced a smile. "Wow, my room-mate is a dork. I never would have known!"

"You have no idea how much I love those movies!" Zoey told her. "Anyway, are those cup noodles ready? I'm starving!"

As she headed out to get her food, Roxy picked up the poster and looked at it.

"Hydro-worm?" She asked, before rolling her eyes. "God, you two are such adorable puppies. You are totally going to kill me!"

Meanwhile, at the police station, Mike and Devon were in a cell. Mike was lying on the bed, getting comfortable while Devon was pacing impatiently.

"Dude, relax." Mike told him.

"Relax?" Devon asked him. "We've just been arrested!"

"Yeah, and we'll be released once the judge hears the other guys started that fight." Mike told him. "It just sucks we got arrested on a Saturday."

"Why's that?" Devon asked him.

"Because the courts are closed on the weekend." Mike told him. "So, there's no judge to arraign us. We need to wait until Monday before they'll even read our case."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Devon muttered. Mike was a little surprised as a couple of cops walked into the custody area and unlocked the cell.

"Alright, you two are free to go." The cop told them, waving them out impatiently. Mike sat up, with a smile on his face.

"You see? This is what you call karma. You do good things, good things happen!" Mike said sagely.

"I'm not too sure about that." Devon muttered.

"Dude, you're not exactly looking too cheerful for someone who just got released after only an hour in a cell on a weekend." Mike answered. He could see that Devon was a little hesitant, almost as if he didn't actually want to leave the cell. "Dude, come on, let's go! If we go now, we can at least see the final rounds and find out who won."

"I doubt it." Devon replied as they headed out. When they got to the main entrance lobby, they were confronted by a man in a suit, one whose face was on posters all around the city.

"Mayor Daniels?" Mike asked.

"Hey dad." Devon whispered quietly. Now, the whole scene made sense. Now he was realising that their release was less to do with karma and more down to the fact that Devon's dad likely had the judge's home number on speed-dial.

"Devon." He said sternly. "Get in the car."

"Dad, I was just…"

"We'll discuss this at home. Get in the car!" Mayor Daniels told him, gesturing outside. Devon just headed outside. Mayor Daniels looked to Mike. "I've heard a lot about you from my son, and I understand you've been a good friend to him. Make no mistake Mike, this is a one-time deal. I won't be doing you a favour like this again."

Mike just nodded in understanding, before looking to him.

"Um…I didn't vote for you, but…can you please go easy on Devon?" Mike asked him. "He really didn't start that fight."

"If I want advice on how to raise my son, I'll ask for it." Mayor Daniels replied. "Now, please just go."

"Sure thing Mayor Daniels." Mike replied as he left, deciding not to push his luck any further.

Mayor Daniels went outside, to the limo that was waiting for him. He got in the back where his son was sitting.

"Dad, I…"

"Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be in a meeting with a parents' concerns group and get a phone call to tell me that my son has been arrested for affray."

"Dad, I didn't start…"

"I don't want to hear it Devon! Life isn't one of your video games!" Mayor Daniels told him. "And you can forget any more of those Martial Arts lessons with that friend of yours."

"But dad…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Mayor Daniels snapped. "Now, we can talk about this at home, but thanks to this little…unpleasantness, I've had to delay some very important meetings."

"I'm sorry." Devon replied. "Can you at least drop me at the arcade?"

"Don't you think you've caused enough trouble there for one day?" Mayor Daniels asked as his phone rang. "Now, I need to take this."

Devon just sighed and looked out the window as the limo pulled away from the curb. His dad was always fighting to make the city a better place. It was the reason why the city had already voted him in for a second term. He just wished his father could see that in his own way, Devon wanted to do the same thing.


	10. Sharing

It was a few weeks later, and people were now starting to see the brass ring well within their grasp. Out of the original 500 candidates, there were now only about thirty left, and the word was circulating that the program was close to completion, meaning that soon the final three would be chosen.

It was a beautiful day, and Ravi was taking full advantage of it with Roxy. Another reason the cadets had for believing something big was coming was because they had all been given leave to go home to their families and to relax with strict instructions to return for an assembly at the beginning of the week. Most of the cadets had not been home in some time and were taking full advantage of the fact. For Ravi, Grid Battleforce was his home. He'd always grown up in military bases, so he didn't really have anywhere to go, but when Roxy told him her parents were on an overseas cruise and she would be staying in Coral Harbour, it just meant that they had all the time in the world together.

He was sitting a little way off from her, his pad in his hand, quietly sketching. She had become something of a muse to him, encouraging him back into his art in a way he wasn't sure he ever would be. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy his art, it was just that his mom always thought of such things as a waste of time, and he always thought he would be best served concentrating on his training. It wasn't as though he'd NEVER draw again, just…maybe when there was time. Now though, he found himself making time.

Roxy, for her part, loved to see him work. She was a little too energetic and fidgety to really model for him particularly often, no matter how flattering she found it that he wanted to incorporate her into his art, but as this was a special occasion, she had made an exception. It was almost a year since they'd first gotten together, and while not really an official anniversary, they figured it was close enough for them. She was lying by a flower bed in the same park where they had first met, while he drew her, glancing between the page and her to ensure he got the details just right. She was, however, having difficulty keeping a straight face.

"Roxy, will you stop giggling?" He asked her.

"What?" She asked. "I can't help it!"

"Roxy, if you start, then I'm going to start too and then there's no way I'll get this finished." Ravi warned her.

"Well, at least let me scratch my nose, it's itching like crazy." She told him. He just smiled.

"I'll tell you when you can move." Ravi answered. He did love her spirit, and he loved trying to capture that on the page, even if it was something of a chore to get her to remain still for more than a few minutes at a time. He did love that they had a shared love of physical pursuits, but she did seem to find it impossible to remain still for long enough for him to draw.

"Ravi, we've been here ages." She giggled. "I think I can literally feel the grass growing under my butt."

"Hey, some things can't be rushed." He assured her. "It'll be worth it, I promise you."

Roxy just continued to pose while Ravi carried on with his sketching. Just like with his training, when it came to his art he was a perfectionist, and he wanted to get everything just right. Although he was perfectly sure the odds were only he and Roxy would ever see the portrait, that didn't mean to say he was willing to settle for anything other than his very best work. Roxy deserved that much.

"Come on, you have to be finished by now surely?" She asked.

"It's just a few details, just…making sure…HEY!" He called out as Roxy finally got fed up and snatched the pad from him. She scrambled to her feet and ran off with it, her mischievous laugh like music to him. He quickly stuffed his pencils into his bag and ran after her. "Roxy…Roxy, come back here!"

Back at Grid Battleforce, Nate headed into the cafeteria, looking for somewhere to have his lunch while he waited for some test results to come back. He was coming close to having most of the technology the new Ranger team would be using up and running, and he just had a few more tweaks he wanted to make to ensure that everything was just as he wanted it in time for the new Rangers being chosen.

The one thing he lamented was the fact that he wasn't actually going to decide who would use that technology. While he did understand military tactics from an academic standpoint, he was never enlisted himself and so he had to bow to General Burke and Commander Shaw when it came to deciding who would use the weaponry and how. They did, of course, consult him with regards to exactly what kind of knowledge, skill and ability would be required to use each of the weapons he was creating, but the fact was he was not going to be on the panel and so he wouldn't decide who would be the Rangers that would finally be chosen.

He had seen all the cadets training, he knew their scores, so he knew who was showing the levels of intelligence and skill that would be needed to use his weapons, but he didn't really want to think of them as just weapons to be used. He was more interested in the kind of people his Rangers would be, the kind of people who he would look up to and admire as the world's latest super heroes.

He did, of course, see the importance of his technology. No one was ever going to last particularly long in a firefight if all they had was pluck and optimism. However, he thought of his weaponry as largely of secondary importance. He saw no weapon as inherently good or bad, it was down to who used it and for what purpose. He saw a weapon as no more inherently good or evil than one of the beakers in his lab, which could just as easily be used to make a new kind of sustainable food source or medicine as it could a deadly toxin. He knew that ultimately his opinion on the candidates meant little, but he was preparing some notes that he hoped they would at least look at to make their decision.

He had seen Ravi, and in him he saw what could frankly be described as a prototypical soldier. He followed orders with little hesitation or doubt. He was the top scorer in every area of training, and he was always trying to prove himself, a drive which would over-ride any kind of ego or self-importance. He could definitely see Ravi as a Ranger, he was without a doubt his first pick. Strong, capable…he did come off as a little stand-offish, but he wasn't cruel or selfish, so with others to guide him Nate was sure he'd be ideal. He just wasn't sure if he would pick yellow or blue for him.

He'd seen Roxy around, and she had a lot of the kind of qualities he'd always imagined for a Ranger. She was kind, she was thoughtful, her first thoughts were never for herself. Her scores were pretty respectable, easily enough to handle all of Nate's technology, and more importantly, he could see something heroic in her. He wasn't sure if she would be best served as simply a member of the team, or if she would possibly be a good leader. She certainly seemed to have a capacity for leadership. At least, she was pretty good at trying to lead Nate into doing things he really wasn't comfortable doing. If she could do that, then maybe she did have some kind of gift that meant people did listen to her and do what she said.

Then, there was Zoey. He saw her sitting in the canteen, working on something while she ate lunch. While others were heading out to have fun or go home to their families, she was still on the base, still working in the laundry and doing what she could to keep up with the rest of the cadets in training. He had seen her scores and the one thing he could say was that they were hardly impressive. She was very definitely a smidgeon below the middle of the pack in pretty much all areas, but that didn't concern him in the slightest. Anything she couldn't do, she always worked twice as hard as anyone else to be able to learn to do.

More than that, she was simply one of the most wonderful, kindest and most selfless people he had ever met. She was always thinking of others. It was a little humiliating at the time, but he did appreciate the fact she stepped in when she saw Blaze giving him a hard time, even when the fact was a direct confrontation with her would likely only have ended very badly for her. She was brave, never giving up no matter how many of the other cadets or instructors told her she wasn't good enough. She only seemed to use any setback as fuel to fire her up enough to be able to turn around and shove it straight in their faces when she finally did accomplish what others said she couldn't. He admired her, and believed others would do the same. To him, she was already a Ranger!

"Hey there…your friend isn't around?" Nate asked. Zoey looked up to him, before seeming to cover up what she was doing with her arms.

"No. She and Ravi went somewhere to do…something." She told him. This did make him feel a little uneasy, he was never particularly great at talking to Zoey. Whenever he did he somehow managed to find his supposedly superior intellect plummeting faster than the rate of gravity, but when Roxy was around, she did kind of dominate the conversation and mean that he wasn't under quite so much pressure to say anything at all. It was a good thing, given that old adage about saying nothing and being thought a fool versus speaking and leaving no doubt. However, he did see that Zoey was sketching something, and from the looks of it, while crude, it did look like some kind of technical drawing.

"What are you working on there?" He asked her.

"Oh…oh, this?" She asked him. "It's nothing. It's silly really, it's…don't even think about it."

Zoey could feel her body temperature increasing dramatically, like she was seconds away from bursting into flames. She was working on some ideas she'd thought of for a project, but since she now knew who Nate was, the thought of him looking at her drawings was completely terrifying to her. She could see that Nate was still trying to see them, but she could only imagine what someone who was designing technology that would quite literally save the world would think about her little doodles.

"No, please, I want to see them." Nate told her.

"It's…it's nothing, it's really just…" She tailed off as he looked at her hopefully. She found herself unable to refuse him and just slid the book over to her. She saw Nate starting to inspect them.

"Interesting, it's some kind of speaker array." He commented.

"I just…I heard recently that a lot of animals from the woods at the edge of town get knocked down on that fast road nearby." She told him. "The built the road, and for a while animals stay away from it, but after a while they get used to the noise and stop being afraid of it so they start coming closer. Then there are houses nearby so they smell food from people's garbage and stuff and…"

"And they wander from the safety of the woods into traffic." Nate said as he looked at the drawings.

"Fences don't always work, and it would mean a lot of building work that'd disrupt their natural habitat." She said bashfully. "I…I…was thinking that since animals stop being scared of traffic noises maybe some speakers that play something they are scared of, like predator calls or something."

"Interesting." Nate said as he tried to piece together what Zoey had sketched. It was definitely rough, a lot more simplistic than he was normally used to working with, but it did show that she had put a lot of thought into it, and had even started to research ideas for how best to place the speakers and potential recordings to use.

"It's a dumb idea." She murmured as she tried to take the drawings back, but Nate wasn't finished with them yet. He pulled them away a little.

"It wouldn't necessarily work on everything though, particularly on predators themselves who might just think it's more of their kind." Nate mused. "Have you heard of sub sonic vibrations?"

Zoey just looked at him a little befuddled. He was actually looking at her ideas seriously?

"It's a kind of sound, on the spectrum but it's so low on the spectrum it can't be heard by humans." He explained to her. "Well, it not only puts out a sound that animals can hear, but at certain frequencies it creates a vibration that's very unsettling. It doesn't harm or hurt the animals per se, but it makes them feel very uneasy, a little scared, perhaps even panicky and causes them to retreat. Some game reserves use it to discourage animals from going to manned areas like storage or photography hides."

"So, instead of predator calls, we could use those sub sonic vibrations to set up kind of an invisible fence animals wouldn't cross?" She asked him. Nate just smiled and nodded.

"It wouldn't just protect the animals, there'd be other benefits too!" Nate told her. "It'd save on road clean up. Less people would have accidents either trying to avoid animals or hitting them and swerving…I think this could be a really great solution to a problem city hall thinks is just one of those things that happens."

"You really think so?" Zoey shrieked in delight, unable to believe that Nate Silva of all people was actually complimenting her on an idea she'd just been kind of throwing around as a possible way to stop some unlucky wildlife getting squashed. He got out a pencil and started sketching around some of her plans.

"I think with a couple of adjustments it would be workable, but the central idea is…it's inspired!" He told her. "I can't believe I never thought of it myself if I'm honest!"

"Now I know you're just playing with me." She said meekly.

"No, no I really mean it!" He assured her. "Would you…would you mind if I held onto these? I'll be talking with some people from the planning department soon about the Morph-X towers, maybe I could suggest we look into this."

"That would be great!" She yelled. "Listen, um…I…I've really got to go, but…I'm glad you like the idea."

"If you have any more ideas, I could have a look at them!" Nate called after her as she started to leave. Zoey got out of the canteen, stopping just outside the door. By now she was positively vibrating. A squeal came right up through her all the way from her toes. Nate Silva of all people had liked not only liked one of her ideas, but he had said he might talk to the city about having it made into a reality!

"He liked it! He really liked it!" Zoey stammered to herself, before having to take some deep breaths. "OK, calm down Zoey, it's probably a fluke. Just…stay calm." With that, she skipped off back towards her dorm.

Meanwhile, in another area of the base, Roxy came running in, almost bowling over some hapless employees that were just going about their duties as she tried to evade Ravi. She still had his sketch in her hand, and had managed to make it all the way back to Grid Battleforce from the park, but he wasn't far behind her.

She ran along the corridor, laughing all the way.

"You're going to have to be faster than that!" She taunted him. She managed to make it back to her dorm, opening the door and slipping inside, but before she could close the door, Ravi ran through, picking her up and tackling her clean to the other side of the room onto the bed. She let out a yelp as they landed.

"I wasn't finished, give that back!" Ravi said as he was trying to get it back from her. She just continued to play a childish game of keep-away, switching it from one hand to the other as Ravi tried to get it back. Even in the midst of all this, Ravi couldn't stop laughing. He could never remember a time where he felt this free, where he felt so much like there was so much more to his life than just the training and the thought of being a Ranger.

Eventually, he grabbed her wrists and held them down, before trying to catch his breath. They both just stared at each other.

"So, you finally caught me." She said mischievously.

"It looks like it." Ravi said.

"So, what are you going to do with me?" She asked. He paused a little. They pulled in, kissing each other passionately. As they parted, Ravi just got up off the bed. He headed back for the door, and pressed the button to lock it. Roxy just smiled as he came back over, starting to take off his shirt.

"You are…incredible." He told her, before pressing his lips to hers.

Outside the dorm, Zoey was whistling to herself, walking with a little skip in her step as she thought about the fact that Nate was now going to be building her idea. She'd always had ideas, but there was always an issue with how to put them together. She had some technical skills, but with her income getting tools and materials to actually practice any of the designs she'd thought of was more of a pipe-dream than anything else.

She could only imagine her creation being put up, keeping the animals of the woods safe from the traffic that frankly had come into their home uninvited in the first place. Although she didn't really care about credit, she did wonder if Nate would mention that it was her idea. She wondered if the city ever did utilise it, whether he'd let her come and watch it being set up. As these thoughts came to her, she came to the dorm and let herself in, but as she did, she found that Roxy's door was closed, and the red light indicated it was locked.

She headed to her room, grabbing some gym gear and heading out. She had intended to see if Roxy was free for some extra tuition, but she figured that right now, she probably had other things on her mind.


	11. The Review Panel

Roxy hadn't quite managed to go to sleep, being shaken awake slightly by movement on the other side of the bed. She smiled a little seeing Ravi sitting on the edge of the bed, starting to get dressed.

"You know, when some people sleep with their partner, they actually get to sleep with them." Roxy mused as she reached out, gently stroking his back.

"Some people don't have so much to do in the day." Ravi responded. "Have you seen my socks?"

"Oh Ravi, all work and no play." She said, pouting a little. "Don't you think it'd be nice, just once, to actually wake up next to each other?"

"Roxy, we both have that level four procedure exam today, I have study to do." He told her. "Not to mention my run, and I've booked time in the target range and…Damn it Roxy, I'm serious, have you seen my socks?"

"Maybe we can find them after breakfast?" She suggested.

"Roxy, I'm not kidding!" He said, getting up as he pulled on his trousers.

"Well, neither am I Ravi." She said, looking a little dejected. Ravi did feel badly about the clandestine nature of their relationship. It wasn't as though he was ashamed of Roxy, though he did fear that she felt like that at times. He just knew that fraternising between staff in the base was frowned upon at the best of times. They weren't even fond of people between departments dating, never mind anything else.

Roxy was one of the most wonderful, warm, funny and beautiful people he had ever met in his life. The moment they met it was like being hit by a truck. In truth he'd only turned his ankle on a curb, but even despite the severe sprain, when she helped him back to the car, he fell for her in a way that he thought only existed in fiction. He could hardly believe it when he saw her at the base, not even realising they had worked together for months without either of them realising it.

He could see the look in her eyes and his heart broke a little. He reached across, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"I'm sorry Roxy, there's nothing I'd love more than to stay." He told her. "But you know how intense things are getting now. Literally any of the cadets could be cut at any time now. We have to be at our best at all times."

"I know, it'd be such a tragedy if you got an A- instead of an A+." She remarked sarcastically. He leaned across, kissing her softly.

"We'll make time to be together soon." He told her. "I promise."

"Over on the dresser." She said, pointing. Ravi looked behind him and laughed a little, seeing his errant sock. He went across, pulling it on before retrieving his t-shirt. He pulled out his phone, which he used to hack one of the security cameras out in the hall to make sure he wouldn't be seen when he left. He took his opportunity and slipped out, heading down the hall towards his own dorm. He was almost there when he found Blaze stretching off in the hallway.

"So, Ravi, fun night?" He asked him. Ravi knew he should just ignore him. He knew that Blaze was trying to get him to rise to the bait and do something that would make him look bad. Both of them were close to the top of the rankings and there were already people not just saying they were likely going to be Rangers but actively debating which of them would end up leading the team. With the competition getting so tense, dirty tricks were being employed all the time, and Blaze was not above cheap shots. He was the one that started the rumours of nepotism that still hounded Ravi constantly. He doubted Blaze really believed the story himself, but if it meant there was enough doubt that it weakened Ravi's position, then he was not going to do anything to dispel them.

"Just an early morning run." Ravi responded. Blaze just smirked.

"Really?" He asked, before reaching to his shirt, pulling one of the exposed seams. "You often run around in clothes that are inside out?"

Ravi just rolled his eyes. Blaze knew damn fine what was going on. Then again, if the rumours were to be believed it wasn't as though Blaze was a stranger to 'night time activities' on the base. Besides, while it was frowned upon, to the best of Ravi's knowledge there was nothing specifically banning relationships on the base.

"I know it's a lot to ask Blaze, but just for once, could you not be an asshole?" He asked, before heading into his dorm. Blaze just snorted.

"Wow, I don't know whose bed you rolled out of but try getting out the other side in future." He chuckled to himself, before beginning his run.

After a few hours' sleep, Roxy came out of the shower and was getting dressed when she heard some sound from the kitchen area of her dorm. She headed in, finding her room-mate Zoey sitting, yawning loudly as she poured herself some coffee.

"You're starting early." Roxy commented.

"Well, unfortunately there are no such things as magical pixies that provide you all with clean, pressed uniforms so some of us have to get up early." She responded. Roxy checked her watch.

"It's only…"

"Yes, and I have a full shift in the laundry before the Level 4 Procedure test." She commented. "Not to mention this assembly they've got arranged. Of course maybe I'd have had a little more sleep if you hadn't had Ravi over."

"Oh, did we…?" Zoey just nodded.

"These walls aren't exactly thick, and you two are not quiet." Zoey assured her. "Hence the coffee. Don't worry, there's enough in the packet for another pot."

"Sorry." Roxy said, sucking her teeth. "It's just…you know…hard for us to make time for each other…"

"Oh, don't I know it!" She responded. "I don't think I've even met Ravi face to face and somehow I think I know him more intimately than his physician."

"Oh God." Roxy responded. "We…really are that loud?"

"Let's put it this way, if the mental images didn't keep me up, the noise definitely did." Zoey replied, downing the last of her coffee. "Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you at the test."

"Alright, just remember, its four o'clock!" Roxy reminded her.

"I've got it ingrained into my memory…even if there's a lot of stuff in there now I really wish wasn't!" Zoey teased her.

"Don't forget to wind your watch!" Roxy called out as Zoey left the room, closing the door behind her. She just let out a sigh. She really didn't mean to inconvenience Zoey and make things harder than they needed to be. Most of the cadets were lucky enough to be supported by their parents but Zoey's family couldn't really cover much of her expenses. She was working full-time in the laundry as well as studying for her Ranger tests, something that was already leaving her spread thin.

She opened another pack of coffee and put it in the coffee maker, turning it on, before pulling a couple of packets of toaster pockets out of the cupboard.

"So, is today a strawberry day or an apple day?" She asked herself. She just shrugged, before tearing open one of each packet and popping them into the toaster, pressing down the button.

On another part of the base, Commander Shaw and General Burke were standing, waiting on the arrival of some very special guests. In order to ensure they made the very best decision who would represent them as Rangers, Grid Battleforce had taken the decision to bring in a panel to make the final decision who would become their Rangers.

"Do I look alright?" General Burke asked her, shifting a little uncomfortably. "Does my uniform look alright?"

"It ought to; you had the laundry press it four times." Commander Shaw said dryly. She did find it a little entertaining to see her immediate superior and long time family friend so nervous. He was a veteran of several war zones, and even when he moved from front line duty to a command role, more often than not his office during conflicts had been less than a hundred yards from the fence line in most of the active conflict zones he had been deployed in. He had faced down gunfire, explosions and all manner of war machines, but now he was getting noticeably nervous around the prospect of meeting some dignitaries.

"Do my medals look alright?" He asked her. "Should I polish them? No, wait...maybe I shouldn't wear so many, do you think it makes me look like a show off?"

She just shook her head, laughing at him. He had every right to be proud of his career. If he wore only all the campaign medals he was entitled to wear, his great coat would be covered. By the time his accomplishments were taken into account as well, all his commendations and suchlike, he'd long since started only wearing the most prominent since he simply wouldn't be able to wear them all.

"You look fine." She assured him. "Look, here they come."

A limousine rolled up to the base, stopping right in front of them. The door opened and Ben got out of the passenger door, wearing a dress uniform. He scurried around as quickly as dignity would allow, straightening himself out before he opened the door. Betty got out of the driver's door, before joining Ben at the opposite side of the door, almost braining herself with a salute so quick the sound of bone cracking on bone could be heard so harshly even Commander Shaw winced in pain.

Carter Grayson, the former President of the United States, former Red Lightspeed Ranger and also one of the only former Rangers whose identity was known to the public came out, returning their salutes as he saw Commander Shaw and General Burke. He came over, shaking hands with them.

"I don't think that's entirely necessary." Carter assured them. "It's been quite some time since I was Commander in Chief."

"It's still an honour to have you." General Burke replied. "You remember my children, Ben and Betty?"

"Of course I do! Wow, you two have really grown." He said, looking to them both. A woman got out of the car, wearing a business suit. "Of course you remember my associate Angela Rawlings."

"I'm so glad you could join us." Commander Shaw greeted her. "It can't be easy spending some time away from the family."

"Oh, they should be fine for a couple of weeks." Angela replied. "Truth be told, it'll get me some peace and quiet for a change. Not to mention I'm hearing a lot of good things about Nate's tech."

"I'm perfectly sure he'll be more than happy to give you a full tour." General Burke said as another man got out of the back of the car. He was wearing a suit, along with some dark glasses. He had a crew cut, which was dark, but had just a few shades of grey within it. He had stubble that wasn't exactly messy, but clearly showed he was not overly bothered about formality. He also had a golden hoop in one ear. "I'm sure you can stand down and relax. My security will keep your charges well taken care of."

"I'm afraid you misunderstand...this isn't my bodyguard." Carter told him. "I declined Secret Service protection quite some time ago."

"Oh, right then." General Burke responded. "Sorry, I just presumed...I'm sure we can have some quarters made up for you..."

"I believe you already have." The man replied, taking off his sunglasses. "I am on the panel after all."

"You are?" General Burke asked, looking to Commander Shaw. She just shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but I should introduce you. It's kind of the drawback to a secret identity." Carter responded. "General Burke, Commander Shaw, I'd like to introduce you to Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Ranger."

"Consider yourselves in a very exclusive club." Jason said, shaking both their hands. "You're some of the very few people on the planet who didn't wear the Spandex that knows."

"I'm...I'm so sorry Mr Scott..."

"Jason, please." Jason assured him.

"You hear that? The original Red Ranger just told me to call him Jason!" General Burke said giddily, almost giggling, having a complete fanboy meltdown. Jason was one of his idols, one of the ones that inspired him the most, even though he had no idea who he was until this moment.

"Thank you all for coming." Commander Shaw finally said. "So, between the five of us, we're hoping to narrow the final thirty down to our three Rangers."

"It'll be an honour." Carter assured them. "I'm really eager to see this project finally come to fruition."

"It'll be a real change of pace getting to choose the Rangers." Jason said with a smile. "In my day, we chose the powers."

"Yeah, that's not the way I heard it." Carter interrupted him. "Didn't your team refuse the call originally?"

"Well, yeah, but we changed our minds." Jason protested. "We totally chose to be Rangers."

"Jason, Zordon teleported you all miles out into the desert and asked you to become his Rangers." Angela reminded him. "Then when you refused, he just opened the door and let you out into the middle of the desert, without any water, any mode of transportation or even directions how to get back to the city. That isn't a recruitment offer, that's a kidnapping."

"God damn it." He groaned. "I'm so going to kill Billy for telling you that story."

With that, they all headed inside.

Zoey was in the laundry when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around, seeing one of her officers standing behind her.

"Reeves, they're calling an assembly!" He told her. Zoey checked her watch, only to find that it had stopped. She rolled her eyes and headed out, checking her phone on the way. There was no way she'd be able to get cleaned up before she had to go to the assembly hall. She made her way there quickly, hoping that by slipping in the back she'd be able to make it through the assembly with no one noticing the fact she was out of uniform and hardly in a presentable state.

She slipped in the back, finding an empty seat as the cadets all filed in. She could see Commander Shaw, General Burke, and three other people standing on the stage. She remembered vaguely Roxy talking to her about a panel, and assumed that was what this was about. She wished she'd had time to make herself presentable, but here, skulking in the back and hiding from the others, she hoped that perhaps she wouldn't be noticed.

"Cadets! As you all know, the final assessments will soon be on us!" Commander Shaw began, looking out over her cadets. "When we began this journey, there were five hundred of you. Now, you number only thirty. Each and every one of you should be very proud to have made it this far. For your efforts, I assure you that Grid Battleforce will always have a place for you should you wish it. However, as you know, we must now narrow down our search to only three. That is where the people on stage now come in."

She gestured to the others.

"What you see here is a panel of experts with insurmountable experience and knowledge of what you'll face." She told them. "You will now be judged to the highest levels of conduct, discipline, training and character. Which brings me to the booklets you will see in front of you."

It was only then Zoey noticed the booklet on the table. She picked it up, beginning to thumb through it. Others were doing the same.

"Inside, you will find our full expectations for the level of conduct we consider befitting of a Ranger. Make no mistake; breaking of any of these rules will be considered grounds for instant dismissal from the program. I suggest you all familiarise yourself with it, as there are some differences from your original code of conduct. Ignorance of the rules will not be considered an excuse." She told them, looking to Ravi, who was starting to study up the rules.

She was proud of him for getting so far, and nothing would have made her happier than to present him with a morpher herself and declare him one of her Rangers, but she saw how miserable his life had become because of the constant harassment. She knew her son well and knew he was never going to violate the rules. She could see Roxy a little way off, looking at the new code, but glancing Ravi's way every now and then. Roxy was a fine young woman, one anyone would be proud of their child bringing home to the family. The only thing she could imagine making her prouder than giving her son a morpher was watching him hand in his resignation and insisting his future lay with Roxy.

Carter stepped up to the microphone to take over.

"As you all know, there was a time that I too served in the Spandex, and without exaggeration, it was by far the greatest honour of my life." Carter told them. "I look at this room and I'm reminded of the time I was quite literally in the Daemon Dimension, and I had to choose between saving myself and seeing to it that the forces of evil would never claim the Earth. Fortunately for yours truly, my friends found a way, but when I cut that line, when I was preparing to fall into the abyss, I did so without hesitation, without a thought for myself and if I was offered that same choice again right now, I would gladly do the same thing all over again. That is what it means to be a Ranger, and as I look at you now, I say this. I am looking for those who would do the same. May the Power Protect You."

With that, they started to pack up, but Commander Shaw grabbed the microphone.

"Miss Reeves, would you come and see me please?" She asked. Zoey froze on the spot as she was packing up to leave.

"Shit." She muttered as she realised that Commander Shaw had indeed seen her. She sheepishly made her way to the front as Commander Shaw gestured her to come towards her with her finger, before pointing outside. She stepped outside, only to turn to her.

"Commander Shaw, I'm sorry, my watch stopped..."

"This isn't the first time I've had to mention this Zoey." Commander Shaw told her.

"I know, and I appreciate that you gave me a chance but..."

"The code of conduct becomes your bible as of this moment Ms Reeves." Commander Shaw told her. "There will be no more chances. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Commander Shaw." Zoey sighed. With that, she left, heading back towards the laundry. She had more work to do before her exam later that afternoon. She just hoped that this was the last time she'd push her luck with the Commander.

In the hall, Ravi was still leafing through his new code of conduct when Roxy came up to him.

"Hey, you ready to hit the gym?" She asked him.

"I'm just going to study this for a bit." He told her.

"Ravi, it's exactly the same." She assured him. "I flicked through it; I've read it all before!"

"There might be some differences." He told her.

"Yeah, I'm sure there's some fine print or something." Roxy chuckled. "Tell you what, if you decide you want to do something fun, I'll be at Riptide alright?"

"I'll see you later." Ravi told her as she left. He went back to his study, and did indeed find that as far as he could see that the code had not changed in any way he could notice. That was until he found a passage he couldn't remember from before, one that hit him deeply. He had to read it a couple of times to be sure.

"In the interests of team unity, as well as to ensure that all Rangers adhere strictly to the priority of life protocols, fraternization between Rangers is strictly prohibited. The penalty for violation of this will be summary dismissal?" He asked. He just stared at the book, before running a hand over his face.

Later in the day, the panel was assembling outside one of the examination halls. Jason looked in, seeing all the desks prepared for the test.

"Wow, this brings back so many memories." He said as he looked back to Carter. "Am I the only one that thought we'd see more action in these assessments?"

"This is only part of it." Commander Shaw told him. "You don't need to worry; there'll be plenty of action later."

"I hope so." Jason answered. They watched as all the cadets came, starting to file into the hall.

"Alright, you all know the drill; leave your bags outside, no talking, no phones." She reminded them. She couldn't help looking around, hoping to see Zoey. She had reprimanded her earlier, but she genuinely did see something in her and was hopeful she would put in a good showing for herself.

"Something wrong?" Carter asked her. She just sighed and shook her head.

"I hope not." She replied.

Down in the laundry, Zoey wiped sweat from her brow and flicked back her matted hair as she grabbed her opponent, pulling once again with all her strength. She staggered a little as she finally dislodged the last load of laundry and pulled it onto the floor.

"Damn it Ben, how many times do I have to tell you not to overload the machines?" She yelled. She always had to yell. Down in the laundry was so noisy as a result of all the machines running that the only way anyone could hear anything was to shout at the top of their lungs. The heat was intense because of the dryers and the air was thick with chemicals. The industrial-strength cleaners created fumes that took a long time to get used to. They were only just this side of needing protective equipment to use, and it was just one more thing that made the laundry one of the worst places on the base to work. Zoey was used to it by now, but it still wasn't uncommon for people to get light-headed and more than a few people passed out until they started to become accustomed to the heat and the thick air.

She pulled the bundle off the floor and onto a table where she started to sort it into different piles. The whole place had a system, one that she created to try and make things just a little more efficient. Just because she hated the job didn't mean she wasn't going to do it well. She always believed in giving everything she did her all. She looked up as she heard some banging and crashing. She rolled her eyes as she saw Betty struggling with some clothing. Abandoning her station, she went to help her.

Betty was tiny, easily the smallest person on the base. Zoey liked her, she was a lovely, bubbly person and always keen to help everyone on the base, but she was way too small to be trying to carry the bundle she was struggling with. Zoey abandoned her work and came over, grabbing the bundle and helping Betty to struggle with it, shoving it into the machine. She slammed the door shut and started the cleaning cycle.

"Thanks." Betty wheezed, looking ready to pass out already. Zoey helped her to a seating position.

"Betty, what are you doing here?" Zoey asked her. "I thought you were in the garage today!"

"You asked me to cover you in the laundry when it was time for the Level Four Procedure test." Betty reminded her. Zoey shook her head.

"Betty, my test isn't until four." Zoey answered.

"Zoey, it's ten to four!" Betty informed her. Zoey just glared at her.

"Don't joke like that." Zoey warned her. "It's only three fifteen…"

Zoey looked to her watch, but after staring at it for a moment; she noticed that the second hand wasn't moving. She tapped it a few times, but to no avail. She grabbed Betty's wrist and stared at her watch, seeing the true time.

"Oh shit…no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!" Zoey rushed out, beginning to panic. Commander Shaw had already warned her once today that she wouldn't be getting any more chances. "Um…I need to shower and…no, wait, there's no time! I need to get to the tenth floor now! Betty…thanks!"

Zoey didn't even take her jacket, there was no time for a shower, there was no time for pretty much anything! She sprinted as fast as she could down the hall. Fortunately, someone was already getting in the elevator. Zoey slid into it, composing herself as much as she could. She could see the way that the others were staring at her. It didn't surprise her; she had to look like a nightmare! A shift in the laundry was like taking a workout in a furnace, but on top of that she was going to have to run almost the full length of the base in only a few minutes. The door opened and she ran down the hall, weaving in between people going about their business, throwing out a few apologies on her way.

In the lecture hall, Commander Shaw cast her gaze towards the clock. She was trying to stall for time, seeing one empty seat and knowing it was Zoey's. She had done everything she could think of, from giving the cadets time to have a quick question and answer session to checking attendance. However, now that the clock finally hit four, she could no longer justify holding on any longer. She just sighed and handed a stack of tests to Blaze.

"Start handing these out, then close the door." She told him, a note of disappointment in her voice. She had now done everything she could; it was now up to Zoey. She had however long it took Blaze to hand out the tests to show up.

Outside, Zoey got to the final straight and saw the lecture theatre. The door was open and Commander Shaw was standing at the front! She had time…but not much! She ran as fast as she could. She saw Commander Shaw pointing to the door, and put her head down, running for all she was worth. Her heart pounding, her breath burning, she could only put her head down and sprint like her life depended upon it.

Inside the hall, Blaze had finished handing out the tests, and went to the door. He heard something out front and cast a little glance outwards. He could see Zoey sprinting towards the lecture hall. A wicked smirk crossed his face as he remembered the incident in the canteen. He looked away from the door, feigning ignorance as he closed it, and stuck his foot by the door to stop it from moving. Everyone could only hear a sickening thud, and saw a patch of sweat the shape of a human forehead on the glass. Blaze just got a satisfied smirk on his face as he took his seat.

Zoey groaned as she found herself flat on her back, her forehead already starting to swell up from where it met only glass as the door was literally closed in her face. She was barely able to raise her head and could swear she saw Blaze smirking at her through the door as he went to take his seat. She wouldn't put it past him to have done it on purpose, but right now that was the least of her problems. Right now her issue was she was meant to be in the room!

She got up, and went to the door, knocking on it frantically. Commander Shaw came to the door, opening it, but she wouldn't let Zoey past. She instead came outside, closing the door behind her.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't…"

"Zoey…"

"I know I'm late, but it's only a couple of minutes!" Zoey begged her, her eyes flashing in desperation. "My watch stopped and I came as soon as I could and…"

"Zoey, I'm sorry but I'm afraid this is the last straw." She stated. Zoey's heart sank into her stomach.

"No, no, no please, you have to give me another…"

"Zoey, this isn't the first time." Commander Shaw told her. "In the last six months you've been late for class six times…"

"Please…"

"You've fallen asleep in class three times, you've turned up out of uniform twice…your test scores are barely above average…"

"Please, give me another chance! I promise I'll do better!" Zoey begged her, clasping her hands and doing her best to pull her best puppy-face.

"Zoey, I like you, really I do, and I see real potential in you, that's why I've given you as much leeway as I can." She told her. "Normally I run a three-strikes system, but I looked the other way because I knew your situation. But I'm afraid this is the last straw. I'm sorry Zoey, but we're only looking for three candidates. Cuts have to be made and it wouldn't be fair to cut a student who's making the grade."

"Please, please I'll do anything!" Zoey said, struggling to keep her tears from running. Commander Shaw put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Zoey, but my decision is final." She answered. "Enrolment for new programs is only a few months away. Maybe you'll find something then."

Zoey just nodded in understanding. It was just like the conversation she'd had with her High School principal when he held her back a year. Until now that had been the most humiliating experience of her life, but she could tell when the fight was over. Commander Shaw headed back into the class, shutting the door behind her. She went to her desk, sitting down with a deep sigh as she put her face in her hands.

Outside, Zoey felt tears welling up in her eyes. She'd tried, she'd worked so hard, she'd run herself ragged, done everything she could, but once again life had shown her that sometimes, that just wasn't enough.

Her heart breaking, she backed against the wall and slid down it, sitting on the floor. She brought her hand up to her forehead, where a huge bump was starting to form after literally having the door slammed in her face. She let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fuck." Was all she could manage to say.


	12. Pity Party

In her dorm room, Zoey was sitting on her bed, clutching a pillow. Ben, Betty and Roxy had come to the room once they heard about her being cut. Ben and Betty had pretty free reign in the base. They didn't strictly speaking have job titles, they just kind of went wherever they were needed to help, and sometimes just wherever they wanted to work. Since their dad was General Burke, it wasn't like most people were going to argue if one of them just turned up and asked if there was any busy-work to do. On a military base, there was usually something to do and people had become pretty adept at finding the jobs they could give them that would have the least risk of catastrophe. Roxy had come as soon as the assessment was finished.

Zoey had managed to stop crying, mainly because life had taught her there was little point. She had tried all she could, begged with everything in her being, but the decision had been made. Her journey to become a Ranger had come to an end, and there was precisely nothing she could do about it.

She could hardly believe that only a few short months ago she had no idea what the Ranger initiative even was. There hadn't been a team of Power Rangers in over 20 years, and so the tales of their exploits had fallen mostly into the realm of legend. People knew that they had existed, there were extensive records of what had happened in their adventures, but it had been so long that most people had created so many stories it was a little difficult to know what was true and what was not. She had originally signed up as a way to get funding for her college education, but as time went by, she was becoming more and more excited about the prospect of becoming a Power Ranger. Now, as the lump still on her forehead testified, the door had been well and truly shut in her face.

"Well, the swelling's starting to go down." Roxy commented as she removed the damp cloth from Zoey's forehead. It had swollen up to about the size of a golf ball, but now it was starting to go down. It was still pretty noticeable but it at least looked like a human forehead once more. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the medic? You hit that door pretty hard."

Zoey just shook her head wordlessly. She didn't want to make a fuss. She had already made herself look like she couldn't be relied upon as a Ranger, the last thing she wanted to do now was make it seem like a little boo boo on her head was going to make her run crying looking for a band-aid. She somehow doubted that the Rangers in the past did much crying over a few bruises and scrapes.

"Zoey, I really think you should get it checked out." Roxy told her. "I heard your skull hit the door from the opposite side of the exam hall."

Zoey just looked to her, at which Roxy backed off. She knew Zoey well enough to know that she wasn't going to be swayed. Betty stepped forward, taking Zoey's hand.

"So, have you talked to Commander Shaw?" Ben asked her. Zoey gulped and nodded.

"I've still got a job in the laundry if I want it." Zoey told them. "The admissions for new courses are a couple of months away so I can start a new diploma then. Commander Shaw said she'd be fine letting me stay here."

"Well, that's good, right?" Betty asked her. "That's kind of what you came here for in the first place isn't it?"

"I guess so." Zoey muttered. It was true, when she first came, she only cared about getting a diploma. The labour market was tough going without a college level education at least, and unless she wanted to be swimming in debt for years after her course, the military was one of the few ways she could get it funded. She'd managed to get this far; she'd managed to get close enough that she could almost see herself in the Spandex…or whatever it was those Ranger suits were made of. She'd let herself build up her hopes, and now it was just another dashed dream. "I…I also like the idea of working here. I mean, this is the forefront of the environmental revolution that's going to save the world, right?"

Betty nodded and patted her on the shoulder. Zoey appreciated that her friends wanted her to look on the bright side, even if right now she really didn't want to do anything other than curl up in a ball and feel sorry for herself.

"Well, if you aren't going to go and see the medic, is there anything else you would like to do?" Roxy asked her. "I have a pretty extensive collection of rom-coms."

"Thanks, but…I really don't feel much like doing anything." Zoey told her. "Or…you know…company. No offence."

"Zoey, sitting in here by yourself isn't going to do you any good." Ben told her. "We all thought you were going all the way. We know this has to be a disappointment, but you're…you're like us. You don't stay down when you've been kicked."

"Yeah, that's right." Betty agreed. "You get knocked on your butt, you get right back up, dust yourself off and get right back to it!"

"Guys, I appreciate the sentiment, but I really just want to be alone right now." Zoey told them.

"No, this pity-party is officially over." Roxy told her, grabbing Zoey and hauling her up out of the bed. "If you're not going to the medic, you're coming to Riptide with us."

"Roxy, I really don't want…"

"Zoey, you are not sitting here with the lights off crying into a pillow." Roxy told her bluntly. "Now, I know you're not going to go to the medic, but one way or another you're coming with us to go have some fun, so you have two choices. Go and get changed, or I can drag you there in your pyjamas."

"OK, OK, I'm going!" Zoey replied wearily, getting up to go and get changed. She knew when Roxy was in a mood like this, she wasn't going to be denied, and the odds were she was completely serious about taking her to Riptide in her pyjamas.

"Night out? That'll be great fun!" Betty shrieked. "Come on Ben, we need to go get changed too. We'll borrow a truck and meet you out front!"

"We'll be right out!" Roxy called after them, before picking up her phone. She dialled Ravi, but all she got was his voicemail. She was a little surprised that he wouldn't take her call, but she figured he must be in the gym or studying or something. She'd have loved Ravi to go with them, but she figured the most important thing was that they cheered Zoey up. She could always catch up with Ravi later.

In another part of the base, Commander Shaw was in her office, discussing the day's results with the rest of the panel.

"Look, I know that knowledge is a part of this, I'm just saying I was hoping to see something with a little more action." Jason commented.

"Well, it did do its job, we've cut another three candidates." Carter replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, but when was the last time you needed a pen and paper in the field?" Jason asked him. "I don't know how things worked in your day, but when I was a Ranger, there weren't too many monsters giving us written exams."

"You don't need to worry, there'll be plenty of action to come." General Burke assured him. "In fact, tomorrow should be right up your alley. We have a full day of melee combat assessments."

"Now you're talking!" Jason said with a smirk. "It's not too late for me to sign up right?"

"It's about 25 years too late." Angela chuckled. Jason just glared at her.

They all looked around as they heard a knock on the door. Well, calling it a knock was somewhat charitable. The door and the wall were shaking under the pounding. They all looked to the door, seeing through the glass that it was Nate that was outside. Commander Shaw just sighed.

"Come in Nate!" She called as she gestured him inside. She looked to the others. "Would you mind giving me the room?"

"It's alright, we were about to adjourn anyway." General Burke assured her. "I was going to show our illustrious guests around. Show them the coolest spot in town."

"Really?" Angela asked. "I hope its somewhere we can eat, I skipped lunch today while Nate was showing me the…"

"Oh, you don't need to worry, Riptide gym has a fantastic range of healthy food!" General Burke assured them.

"The coolest spot in town is a gym?" Jason asked with a smile on his face. "I think I'm going to like it here!"

With that, they filed out, leaving Nate and Commander Shaw alone in the room. She just closed the door, but turned to look at him, more than a little annoyed with the rather impudent way he had demanded her attention. If it was anyone else, she'd likely have already sent them to a provost sergeant for disciplinary action. However, even though it was Nate didn't mean she was going to just let it go without comment.

"Can I ask why you're trying to break my door down?" She asked him.

"I just heard you cut Zoey." Nate snapped. Even if he hadn't pounded on her door like he was trying to smash it, his face completely gave away how he felt on the matter. While his notes and his suggestions were taken into account, he was not on the panel that made the decision who would become Rangers. If he had been, he'd have fought tooth and nail to keep her in the program.

"Yes, that is correct." Commander Shaw told him.

"Why did you do that?" He yelled at her. "Zoey is one of the best candidates we have! She was strong, she was…she was smart, she was caring…"

"Nate, this isn't about that." Commander Shaw told him. "She was late for the test…"

"So what?" Nate demanded. "She works twice as hard as anyone else on the base! If we had three of her we'd have our Rangers right there!"

"Nate, we have to hold everyone to the same standards." Commander Shaw pressed on. "Her grades were barely acceptable, and her conduct was below acceptable standards. I can't make exceptions."

"But you HAVE to!" Nate demanded.

"I'm sorry Nate, but my decision is final." She put down flatly.

"If you don't let her back in…" He started to say, before seeing her glaring at him. He was about to reconsider, but he was determined to stick to his guns. "Then…then maybe I'll just stop making the Ranger tech!"

"Nate…"

"You can't force me to work here, and I'm sure there are other places that will be only too happy to hire me and benefit from…"

"NATE!" She yelled, cutting him off. He was bowled back a little by the tone of her voice. It wasn't often Commander Shaw yelled at him, she was, among other things, something of his carer on the base. She was given legal responsibility for his welfare in his parents' absence. "I will NOT be threatened!"

"But…"

"Your technology and your intellectual property are the legal property of Grid Battleforce!" She reminded him. "Now, you may not like the fact that Zoey was cut, and believe you me I wasn't either!"

"You…you weren't?" He asked.

"We all have our lists Nate. Just like you, and General Burke, hell, probably like the rest of the panel, I've already been looking at the candidates and deciding who I want on my team, and believe me, Zoey had a lot of the qualities I was looking for."

"Then why did you cut her?" Nate asked.

"Because I can't let my personal feelings on whether or not I like someone as a person over-ride the fact that they are not qualified for the position!" She told him. "Now, I give you a lot of leeway on this base Nate. Your room, your entertainment system, the ice-cream machine, I am willing to overlook a lot, but when you question my command, that is something I am NOT willing to tolerate!"

Nate just backed down a little. He realised he'd overstepped the line by quite a long margin. He'd tried to threaten Commander Shaw to let Zoey back into the program. She came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I like her too. She's an exceptional young woman, and she still wants to help, which is why I've ensured she has a position on the base as long as she wants it." She assured him. "But she will not be a Ranger. Something she has accepted, and that I've had to as well. I'm afraid you're going to have to as well."

Nate just nodded sadly, before starting to head for the door.

"Nate!" She called after him. He turned back towards her. "For what it's worth, I wish things could have turned out differently too."

With that, he left the office, heading back to his lab. He was disappointed that Zoey couldn't be one of his Rangers, but he had fought her corner as strongly as he could. In the end, even his threat was empty. He knew that the world and its safety was more important than one person, no matter who that person was.

In another part of the base, Ravi was in his dorm room studying. This wasn't unusual in and of itself, pretty much any time he wasn't training or spending time with Roxy, he was studying. However, this time he wasn't just studying tech manuals or strategy guides, with a selection of stationery to highlight the most important things he needed to know, this time he only had one Grid Battleforce book on his desk. The brand-new Ranger code of conduct.

He was always a stickler for the rules. He had always been in a military family, and rules and regulations were very important. Everyone had to abide by the rules, even the ones they didn't agree with or in some cases didn't make any sense. It was possible to disagree with the rules and work to get them changed while still obeying them. No matter how silly he thought the rule was, he couldn't just break it just because he didn't like it.

He read the rule over and over again. 42 C. It was a rule that strictly forbade Rangers from dating other Rangers.

The reasoning behind it was the Priority of Life protocol. It was not always possible to save everyone, and so a very strict hierarchy was put in place how they prioritised how to determine who was to be saved in the circumstance where difficult decisions had to be made. They were meant to place the priority on saving non-combatants, innocent bystanders, then their team mates, and lastly themselves. Of course, there was no way that they could completely eliminate bias in people's decisions. After all it was only human nature that someone would save a friend that they worked with and saw on a daily basis before a complete stranger, but they wanted to try and train that instinct out of people. In the case of personal relationships though, it did muddy the waters.

The thing they wanted to avoid more than anything was the possibility that when push came to shove and someone had to make a choice, they would abandon their position and their duty if someone they loved was in danger. It was not hard to understand why someone would do everything they could to save their partner, even if it meant abandoning their mission, and that was what they were hoping to avoid. Ravi understood what the rule was for, but he didn't think it was necessary. As much as he loved Roxy, he didn't think he would just let others suffer and die for her. At least, he didn't think he would. Roxy…Roxy wasn't exactly helpless, nor was he. With their training, they could look after themselves, so was it even an issue?

He had read the rule over and over again, trying to find if there was some loophole in it. He had heard that there were certain ranks in the military where it was forbidden from officers having relationships with enlisted soldiers, but if an enlisted soldier was already married to or in a relationship with another enlisted soldier and then became an officer then the relationship would be allowed to continue. He had looked up some military conduct texts, even legal documents to see if there was some way that the rule could be determined to be unfair, an unreasonable curtail on personal liberty or even illegal, but he didn't know if it could stick.

He just closed the book and threw it across the room in frustration. He didn't know if he could maybe talk to his mom about it. After all, he hadn't even told his mom about Roxy. She had always told him that she wanted him to be happy, and the one thing he was sure about was that Roxy made him happier than he had ever been. Maybe if she saw that, he could convince her to…

Then another thought came to him. He couldn't do that. Asking his mom to change the rules to suit him? That was exactly the kind of thing Blaze and his idiotic followers always said that he would do. They already kept saying that he only got where he was because his mom ran the program. If she quite literally changed the rules to suit her son, how would he ever be able to hold his head up and say he deserved to be a Ranger?

He didn't know what he was going to do about the rule, he hadn't even talked to Roxy about it. He wasn't even sure she knew about it yet. He didn't know how he was going to begin to discuss it with her. The only loophole he could see was that the regulation only forbade Rangers from dating EACH OTHER. It didn't say that Rangers couldn't date anyone that wasn't a Ranger. If only one of them became a Ranger, it was possible that the rule wouldn't be an issue at all. It was still possible that one or both of them wouldn't be chosen, but it still played on his mind what would he do if they did both get chosen?

He got his feet and started pacing the room, kicking his waste-paper basket in a fit of temper. Sometimes he hated the rules, but he couldn't break them just because he didn't like them, he just had no idea what to do about it.

Over at Riptide, Zoey was slurping a milkshake while the others watched on. She forced a smile as she looked to them.

"Thanks guys, you were right." Zoey told them. "This is totally better than just sitting in the dorm feeling sorry for myself."

"What can I say? I'm a genius!" Roxy congratulated herself.

"Yeah, this is great." Betty said as she spooned some strawberry ice-cream out of her milkshake. "You see? It's not so bad."

"I know, and I'm grateful to you guys." She told them. "I was in a real mood and…and I can always rely on you guys to help me out of that."

Zoey rolled her eyes as they heard another cheer going up from another corner. She was about to turn to glare at the noisy group in another part of the gym. Blaze and a bunch of his fans had come in to celebrate making the cut. She couldn't help feeling like it was rubbing her face in it a little. She couldn't begrudge them being happy at getting so far, she knew she'd probably be doing the same thing.

"Another round of shakes and fries all around!" Blaze called out, getting a huge cheer.

"Just remember, one soy shake here!" One of them called out.

Zoey was glaring, shaking her head as she saw Blaze tipping a glass in her direction. It just made the lump on her forehead throb even more intensely as she remembered seeing his stupid, smug face on the other side of the glass after she'd bounced off the door. Roxy took Zoey's hand.

"Just ignore them." She told her.

"I'd love to." Zoey sighed. "But I still have a splitting headache."

Roxy just grabbed her head, leaning across the table and kissed Zoey right on the lump on her forehead.

"There you go." She said cheerfully. "Does that help?"

"A…a little I guess." Zoey responded, finding it hard not to laugh that Roxy had decided to kiss her boo boo better. It was tough to stay mad when Roxy was around.

On the other side of the room, Blaze was hosting his own little party, ensuring he was the centre of attention. Just as he was receiving the order from the waiter, he could see General Burke coming in with Carter, Angela and Jason.

"Wow, now this place I like!" Jason commented loudly as he looked around. "This really is just like home!"

Blaze was happy to see that the panel was there. He was nothing if not an opportunist, and he loved thinking that he could get to see him in a good light. As he was dolling out the shakes, he saw that they all had red straws, except for one which had a green straw, likely so the waiter would know which one was the soy shake. He saw the party was too busy digging into fries, and took the opportunity to switch the green straw with the red one in one of the other shakes.

It didn't take long for his plan to come into effect. One of the cadets took a long slurp of his shake, completely unsuspecting of the fact it wasn't what he ordered. He suddenly let out a loud groan and ran from the room, heading for the bathrooms.

"What's his problem?" One of the others asked. Blaze took this opportunity to switch the straws quickly as another cadet went for his shake. By the time the first came back, all he saw was someone drinking a shake with a green straw.

"You OK man?" Someone asked. He stormed over to the table, glaring at the completely innocent cadet, who as far as he could see had taken his soy shake.

"You asshole! You took my shake!" He roared.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm lactose intolerant dipshit!" He yelled. "Dairy makes me sick! I was just puking my guts up!"

"It's not my fault you picked up the wrong shake." The other said.

"They always put a green straw in my shake!" He yelled, pointing at his shake. "YOU took my shake dickhead!"

"Wait, this isn't…" He didn't get to answer though, the first cadet snatched the shake from him and threw it straight in his face. The splash got several others at the table, and as they moved to avoid the splatter, the table was shaken and food and drink was scattered everywhere. Before long, the first punch was thrown and the whole scene descended into chaos.

"Hey, hey, HEY!" Blaze called out as he started to grab and separate the cadets. Jason and Carter quickly got involved as well to help separate numerous cadets who were at each other's throats.

"That is ENOUGH!" General Burke snapped. "I have NEVER been so furious with cadets under my command in all my life!"

"He started it!" The first cadet snapped angrily. "He took my soy shake and…"

"I don't want to hear it!" General Burke yelled. He looked around at the cadets, quickly ascertaining which ones had been involved in the fight. "You four. Consider yourselves cut from the program!"

They started to protest angrily, but General Burke just called them all to attention.

"All of you, back to the base NOW!" He demanded. "You have embarrassed yourselves and me enough for one day!"

As they were starting to file out of the Riptide, Jason looked to Blaze.

"Hey, kid." He said, raising Blaze's attention. "I saw what you did. Good job trying to split that up. Not everyone would get involved."

"Just trying to do my bit." Blaze replied humbly. Carter nodded and patted Blaze on the shoulder, before following General Burke out of the gym. Blaze got a cocky little smirk on his face. He never did miss an opportunity to rub the right shoulders, and this opportunity had just fallen right into his lap.


	13. The Original Red's Gauntlet

The cadets were assembled in the main gym of the Grid Battleforce building, which had been cleared out, except for some sparring mats on the floor ahead of the day's assessment. They had been told today would be a major test of their hand-to-hand abilities.

Ravi was standing in the front row as always. It didn't matter if it was school, the academy, even as far back as kindergarten he was always the kid that was front and centre of the class. He was eager to impress, to ensure that he was not missing anything his instructors could teach him for his whole life, but right now, but at the moment, his mind wasn't completely on the task at hand. All he could think of was the same thing that had been echoing in his mind since he had first read it, the thing that had meant he had only had at most two hours' sleep the whole night.

Regulation 34 C.

He hadn't yet had a chance to talk Roxy about it. He didn't know if she had read the handbook yet, if she was even aware. He'd gone through the whole thing cover to cover now almost a dozen times and he couldn't for the life of him notice anything else that was different between the Ranger handbook and the Grid Battleforce Code of Conduct other than Regulation 34C. It was possible she simply hadn't read it, or maybe if she had read it that she had just thrown the book aside. Compared to him, Roxy's room was a complete shambles, and her idea of tidying and organisation was more akin to throwing things in the air and letting gravity decide where they were "filed". Did she even know that if they were both chosen that they would be banned from seeing each other? Or did she know but simply ignored the rule? Frankly either was a possibility with her. Roxy's free spirit was one of the things he loved most about her, but that didn't change the fact that it was now right there in black and white. If they were Rangers, and they were in a relationship, they had a choice, end the relationship or resign.

He didn't know how to bring up the subject with her, how to talk to her about it. He was still trying to figure out how he felt about it as much as anything else. It seemed like a ridiculous rule, one that was there for a legitimate reason but that wasn't necessary. As much as he loved her, he couldn't imagine anything coming between him and his duty, and he imagined Roxy would be the same. Rangers had protection, they were highly trained and if the worst truly came to the worst, it wasn't as though they didn't know what they had signed up for. Unlike some of the teams of the past, the candidates had all signed up for this, meaning that every one of them had accepted from the moment they signed their contract that they could very well be placed in the situation where their life was the price of saving the world. He would love to plead the case, but he didn't know how much good it would do. At best, the military was not known for being particularly quick to change its ways and traditions. At worst, he would be confirming what a lot of people already believed about him. That he would use the fact his mother was overseeing the project to change the rules to suit himself.

He didn't even need to look at Roxy to know she was looking his way. He could feel it, and a deep guilt bubbled within him. It felt dishonest, cowardly that he hadn't yet been able to talk to her about the fact that they could well be put in a position that they had to choose between their relationship and the program. In some ways, and he was ashamed to admit this, he almost hoped one of them would be cut so that it would be a non-issue and save him having to have that conversation at all. They all snapped to attention and saluted as General Burke came striding in with his panel.

"At ease!" He ordered them, looking around. "As you may notice, there are now less of you than there were yesterday. All I will confirm as that they were cut for conduct unbecoming of a Ranger!"

There were some whispers as he said this. The news about the brawl at Riptide had already made its way around the cadets. For some, they were quite happy to see the field being narrowed further, and having some potentially strong competitors being removed from contention. For others, they were unsure if it was just the rumour mill, but either way, now they'd heard it directly. They had indeed been cut.

"Make no mistake, I will hold each and every one of you to account for your behaviour! I expect absolutely nothing short of the conduct of a hero at all times!" He told them. "This is not about special treatment or personal glory. No one will know your names, no one will know who you are! You will be heroes, but not for glory or fame, but because it is what you are! That does not mean to say you should take your anonymity to be a licence to behave as you please! You will be a representative of Grid Battleforce at all times and I expect you to behave like it, whether your face is covered or not. Now, without further ado, I will pass you across to Mr Scott for today's assessment."

Jason stepped forward, considering the cadets before him. Somewhere in there, were the future of the legacy he had taken up himself. He had always taken the responsibility of the power very seriously, but even as the leader of a team, he had always been in some ways a passenger. He was charged with making the best of the Rangers he had under his command, but choosing the Rangers themselves had always been Zordon's responsibility in his day. Now, he was in the role of being one of the ones to decide who would wield that power.

"Compassion, courage, honour, empathy, kindness. These are all the cornerstones of being a Ranger." Jason began his speech as he paced back and forward. "A Ranger is nothing without the values that make him want to use his power to fight for what's right. To defend those that are unable to defend themselves."

He stopped as he got to Blaze, and looked the kid up and down. He gave him a little smile and a nod. He'd seen him step up to break up the fight at the Riptide. Although it had been a few years since he'd competed at the top level, he also kept track of the tournament scene enough to know who Blaze was. World Champion was a title that Jason had lifted himself on one occasion after his retirement from the duties of a Ranger.

"However, as much as we wish it to be otherwise there is also another important thing a Ranger must be able to do and that is fight." Jason told them. "We would rather we could de-escalate a situation before it comes to that, but sadly you will always encounter those that will not resolve their differences without violence and you must be prepared to answer it in kind. I'm not going to lie, it can be brutal and it can be painful. The first time I faced a monster one-on-one, I was younger than many of you in this room. I've broken bones, I've bled, I've even endangered my life on more than one occasion, and as regrettable as it is, we must ask you to be prepared to do the same."

Jason then started to do a quick count of those in the room.

"There are twenty one of you left." He stated. "Blaze, I'd like you to step up first. You two, step up too."

Blaze and two other cadets stepped up onto the mat. Jason took off his jacket, putting it in a corner and stepped back up into the centre of the ring. He then brought his hands together.

"Full contact, begin!" He told them. The three cadets just blinked and stared at him.

"I'm sorry, what?" One of them asked.

"You think every fight is going to be fair? Is going to be one on one?" Jason asked him. "Now, begin!"

Blaze was the first one to realise Jason wasn't joking and by far the fastest off his mark. Even though there were two other cadets, it didn't take him long to bring them both down. Everyone knew that Blaze was the highest ranked in hand-to-hand, and he wasn't about to give the other two the chance to realise their best chance lay in ganging up on him. Jason looked to the other judges, who were busy scoring the bout. Jason just smiled.

"Nicely done Blaze." Jason complimented him, before pointing to Roxy and two other cadets as they all left the mat. "You three! Hope you don't mind getting a few bruises. You know the drill, last one standing. Begin!"

Over in the laundry, Zoey was trying to keep herself busy and keep her mind on the job in hand. She hated the laundry with a vengeance, but now that she had been cut from the Ranger program, for the time being at least, it was what she had and so she was going to do her best to be the best at it she possibly could. Commander Shaw had already promised her that she would be able to apply for new college courses in a couple of months, and in the meantime it did mean she had her room, board and her tuition being covered. It was nice, in some ways, to only have one task to concentrate on, but that didn't mean she wouldn't welcome getting another job on the base if the opportunity arose.

She had never had the luxury really of being able to sit back and just wait on opportunities coming to her, so she had always been a big believer that she could take the job no one else wanted and doing that well until a job she really wanted came up. It was a lot easier to wait on the right opportunity when you could pay your bills in the meantime, and she was going to make the best of things until she did get something better.

She was in a much better mood than she had been the previous day. Roxy, Ben and Betty were good friends, rallying around her and helping her through her disappointment. She had started to like the idea of being a Ranger, but if that wasn't on the cards, she was happy to find other ways to help a cause she believed in. She wasn't exactly terrible at science and in a few months she could see about taking on some kind of course that would see her being able to help out in the lab. She could only imagine how busy Nate was, not only revolutionising the energy industry, but also creating the Ranger technology. She imagined that it would be helpful to him to have a few more pairs of hands, even if all she ended up doing was some of the grunt work around the lab. She already had a good grasp of how to use a basic database, run an inventory and clean so maybe she could be a research assistant?

She felt a finger prod her shoulder and let out a huge shriek as she jumped backwards, crashing into someone and bowling them both onto the floor in a tangle of limbs. She looked to the side and saw a pair of glasses knocked slightly askew. Horrified, she quickly scrambled to disentangle herself and get up.

"Nate!" She yelled apologetically as she backed up nervously. Nate Silva was a name she'd heard over and over again over the years. A passionate environmentalist, she'd seen his name connected to numerous inventions that were designed to improve the quality of life on the planet. Habitats that made the climate more hospitable to bees to help encourage pollination, water filtration systems that could be installed for virtually no expense in some of the least hospitable regions on Earth, crops that could grow virtually anywhere that weren't bred to be incapable of seeding to feed some of the most poverty-stricken regions…Just like her, there was someone out there that believed in doing everything possible to save the planet, but his mind and his skills allowed him to do almost miraculous things that could change the world. She'd come to idolise him even before she had any idea what he looked like. She'd heard the name but it was only a short time ago she even realised who he was. She could have been knocked down with a feather when she realised her idol was around the same age she was. Now though…she'd just knocked the guy that was the human race's chance of survival flat on his ass. "I'm…I'm so sorry!"

"It's OK." He groaned, rubbing the back of his head, feeling incredibly embarrassed by the whole thing. He had been trying to get her attention, but she hadn't seemed to hear him, so he went right up behind her. He hadn't intended to startle her, but now, here they were. Once again his brain was firing about as quickly as a broken metronome around her.

"I…I just didn't hear you, because of the machines and…"

"Yeah, that's what I figured." Nate said as he started trying to get up. Zoey suddenly realised she hadn't even thought to help him up and rushed over, offering him a hand. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, its fine, I should pay more…" She started to say, grabbing him and hauling him up, before with a rather sickening crunch, their foreheads collided. She'd been so eager to help him up, to correct her mistake she'd pulled him right into herself. They were both dazed. "…OW! I'm sorry!"

"No…no…its fine, really it is." Nate said as he steadied himself and straightened out his glasses.

"So, what are you doing down here?" Zoey asked him.

"I was looking for you actually." Nate told her. "The city gave me the go-ahead for those subsonic invisible fences."

"You're kidding!" She gasped. "Nate, that's amazing!"

"Yup, and it's all thanks to you." Nate told her. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go and help me install them."

"You…you want me to help you?" She gulped. She'd already assaulted the poor guy twice in the space of as many minutes. She was a little sceptical as to whether anyone should trust her with the welfare of possibly the most valuable person on the planet. "Really?"

"Well, you were the one that came up with the idea and the original design concepts." Nate reminded her.

"Yeah, but you made them." Zoey said self-consciously.

"It's something I wouldn't have thought of if it wasn't for you." Nate told her. "So, think the laundry could spare you for a few hours?"

"I don't know, we're…"

"Oh, she can be spared!" Betty rushed out as she appeared, seemingly from nowhere, exploding from a pile of laundry nearby.

"Yeah, we can help out here." Ben said as he sort of erupted from a laundry cart. Zoey was somewhat curious how exactly they both got there in the first place, but she'd known Ben and Betty long enough to know that in some cases, it was probably best she didn't dwell too deeply on the matter. It was far from the most bizarre situation they'd managed to find themselves in during all the time Zoey had known them.

"Are you sure?" Zoey asked. "I thought you were in the garage…"

"Uh…yeah…it's probably best we don't spend too much time around Captain Mannford for a while." Betty stated.

"At least until he stops limping." Ben added. "Thank God for steel toe caps."

Zoey just shook her head. She figured it was best not to ask. She looked to Nate a little nervously.

"Are you really sure you want me?" She asked him. "There has to be a whole bunch of lab assistants you could ask…"

"No, I figure the person who helped come up with them should get the chance to go." Nate told her. "Unless…you would rather…?"

"NO!" She rushed out, a little more eagerly than she intended. She grabbed her jacket and looked to him, at which he led her away. Betty pulled out her cell phone and took a picture, before quickly crafting a text message.

"You think this is it?" Ben asked excitedly as Betty started scrolling through her contacts.

"I don't know." Betty replied. "But Roxy did say she wanted to know anything!"

Back in the gym, the cadets were resting up after a couple of rounds of gruelling matches. Jason had been putting them through the ringer as much as he could, testing their very limits. Three person matches, five person matches, teams, handicaps…it seemed like there was no end to his imagination or his sadism. No one was exactly sure which. Roxy was pinching her nose and holding her head down, with a tissue underneath it as her phone bleeped. She opened it up, seeing the message from Betty.

"They're leaving the base to…go on some science type thing together?" She asked. "Dear God, they're really trying to kill me."

"I think they're just trying to test all of us." Ravi said as he arrived, clearly not knowing what she was talking about. He was limping around, trying to get some circulation back into his hamstring, which had taken some heavy kicks in his last bout.

"Are we positive this guy was a Ranger?" Roxy asked him.

"Our Ranger almanac said he was." Ravi answered.

"Well, are we sure he isn't still evil?" She asked him. "I mean, wasn't one of them evil at one time?"

"It was another one." Ravi assured her. She pulled the handkerchief away from her nose.

"How does it look?" She asked him. Ravi just looked to it and examined it carefully.

"It looks fine." He replied. Roxy, like everyone else, had been pummelled from one side of the room to the other in the various bouts. It killed Ravi to watch her being beaten, but he was impressed by how she handled herself. She didn't have the same military upbringing, but she was a gifted Martial Artist in her own right and was putting on a strong showing for herself. Ravi had no idea what the panel's scores were saying about them, but he was tallying up a kind of table in his own brain and he was quite confident that Roxy was pretty high on that table. He was proud of her, and loved seeing her doing well, but he was also ashamed to say that once or twice when she got hit with a big move, he kind of hoped she wouldn't get back up. He was also tempted himself to just lie down once or twice, but it wasn't in him not to give everything his all.

"Alright, break time is over, everyone on the mat." Jason declared. All the cadets groaned and started to make their way slowly to the mat. "Come on, do you think we got the benefit of groaning and whining when Astronema threw everything she had at us? Get your butts up here!"

They all lined up, at which Jason just smiled.

"I want to commend you all, you've all done very well to get to this point." Jason told them. "We've been assessing you every step of the way and we're all very impressed by what we've seen. We haven't just seen skill and strength, but a lot of guts too. However, there is one last test for today, and I'd like to introduce you to your opponents."

He panned his hands across the whole group. Ravi just gulped.

"You're…you're kidding, right?" He asked.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Jason asked him. "We've been compiling a table of all of your scores today, and the bottom six are being cut. For those six, this is your last chance to make the cut. For the rest of you…let's just call it a test of intestinal fortitude. Begin."

With that, he stepped off the mat. The students started turning this way and that, looking for who was going to make the first move. Those that had lined up on the outsides as they lined up to attention were at an advantage, those in the middle…they knew that they were in a precarious position. There was a cry and the first kick was thrown, at which Jason just stepped back to the panel and watched the show.

"You really are sick sometimes, you know that?" Carter asked him. Jason just smirked.

"You don't know the half of it." Jason answered.

Out in the forest just at the edge of town, Zoey and Nate were hard at work, setting up the first of their devices. Zoey could hardly believe that someone had actually made one of her ideas into a reality. She did have some basic knowledge of science and technology, but nothing close to what it would take to create something like her invisible fences. Nate had borrowed one of the Grid Battleforce vehicles and loaded it up with the devices, bringing her out to set them up.

Like any city, Coral Harbour was getting bigger, and more and more people coming to the city meant more traffic, which also necessitated new roads. Mayor Daniels had been committed to environmental policies, but even he had to bow to pressure at times when traffic was simply at an unsustainable level, and sadly sometimes that meant roads were built perilously close to woodlands. This stretch of road had seen a lot of animals being caught up in traffic, something that Zoey really wanted to do something about, but the idea of sticking up fences created its own problems. They were expensive, the building work would disturb natural habitats, and it was questionable how effective they'd be with certain species being well-known for their ability to make a mockery of fences. In the end, the idea of something that would simply discourage animals from venturing too close seemed like a much better idea.

Nate was up a ladder, fixing one of the devices to a tree by means of a brace he had made so that he wouldn't have to drive screws or nails directly into the tree. Although those would cause minimal harm, he was still always trying to find ways to disturb it as little as possible, something that Zoey greatly admired.

"So, these things run on Morph-X?" She asked him.

"Affirmative." He clarified, checking the mounting he was putting together. "Only a few millilitres of Morph-X should be able to power these for a couple of centuries."

"Centuries? Wow!" Zoey remarked.

"Could you hand me the small Phillips head screwdriver?" Nate asked her.

"Oh, sure." Zoey said, going to the tool kit. She suddenly became a little embarrassed. "Uh…is that the flat one or the cross one?"

Nate looked to her, and she could only imagine what he was thinking. She didn't know the difference? To her, she'd always called them cross and flat. She was more than capable of fixing things, she didn't have the same luxury of buying new whenever something broke others did and she and her mom had put together every piece of furniture at her home from flat packs. The technical terms were something she just never really bothered with, she knew what they did.

"The cross one." He told her. He didn't know why he found it charming that Zoey referred to the tools that way. He was so used to being around people that threw around technical jargon all day that it was a refreshing break from the norm to have someone say something a little different. She handed him the screwdriver, at which he started tightening everything up. "OK, so fill the emitter, remember, just a couple of millilitres, and then we should have to ready to do a preliminary test."

Using a dropper, Zoey put the small amount into the device before handing it up to Nate. He turned it on and set it in the cradle, before coming down from the ladder.

"So, is that it?" She asked him. He pulled out a device.

"There's a sound in the subsonic range." He confirmed. The devices emitted a sound that was so low that it was outside the range of human hearing, just one of the reasons it was chosen. "Now, let's just get back to a safe distance and watch and see how it works."

They both headed back to the truck. Nate was about to look out something for them to eat while they waited.

"Oh…Oh…Nate, look…look!" Zoey said excitedly as she started grabbing at his arm. Nate turned around to see her frantically pointing at a baby deer that had wandered into view. It was heading in the direction of the road. They both watched as it got to within a few feet, and then it suddenly stopped. It seemed to look around, almost curiously, like it was feeling uneasy about something though didn't really understand why.

He felt Zoey gripping his arm tightly and smiled a little, feeling her tight grip. She was beaming brightly as she watched the timid creature. After a few moments in the space between the two devices it suddenly turned tail and trotted off in the opposite direction. Zoey turned Nate towards herself and grabbed his shoulders, beginning to bounce in glee.

"Nate, did…did you see that?" She shrieked. "It works!"

"Well, a sample size of one is a little too small to make a conclusion but…it definitely appears so!" Nate declared proudly. Zoey grabbed him, pulling him in and hugging him tightly, jumping up and down with him.

"IT WORKS!" She shrieked, laughing in delight. It was so infectious that Nate just had to join in, but after a few moments, something in Zoey's brain just suddenly kicked in. What was she doing? She was still jubilant over seeing that her idea worked, but this was one of the greatest minds of their time and she was reacting like a child. She backed off a little and tried to compose herself.

"So…um…" She stammered as she swept some hair behind her ear and tried to just pretend that she hadn't just done that, while simultaneously hoping that Nate wouldn't think she was a complete child with a healthy dose of hoping the Earth would just open up and swallow her whole. "We…should probably set the rest of these up."

"Yeah." Nate finally managed to say, somewhat in a daze, wishing that Zoey hadn't let him go. "Yeah, that would…be what to do."

With that, they each grabbed a couple of the devices and some tools, before getting to work.

Back at Grid Battleforce, the battle royal was descending more into a carnival of carnage as the cadets vied for the all-important places on the next stage of judging.

"Alright, you're out!" Jason called as one of the cadets started rolling on the mat, clutching at his ribs. There had been some impressive shows of tactics at first. Some of the cadets realised they were likely not at the top of the table and were seeking to team up to take down some of the stronger contenders, or at very least weaken them for future elimination. However, in the heat of the contest, any such alliances very quickly turned sour. When an opportunity came to eliminate someone from the contest, people were only too quick to take that chance, even if they had been working together only moments before.

It was working out well for Blaze. He knew that as the World Karate Champion and consistently highest graded in hand to hand, he had the largest bullseye on his back in this game. Still, it suited him down to the ground when temporary alliances crumbled and people instead gambled that reducing the number of opponents was more important than taking any particular opponent out…or that the heat of the moment simply made people forget their strategy on the subject.

People fell as time went on, and the medics at the side of the mat were pouncing on anyone that it became clear were unable to defend themselves any longer. Before long, they were down to the last half-dozen candidates.

Roxy flipped one of her opponents over her shoulder, before locking in a painful arm lock. The other cadet was quick to tap out before she could tear out his shoulder. Even those that were still competing could tell that it was better to lose one battle now and try to increase their score in another assessment than it was to risk an injury that would shelve them completely. Roxy felt someone back into her and spun around, raising a fist, only to see Ravi turning to her, also with his fist at the ready.

They both stared at each other for a long moment. They'd both come so far, lasting out the gauntlet through so many of the other students. Roxy stared at Ravi for a moment, breathing deeply as she tried to regain some focus on what was going on around her. For this exercise they were opponents, but ultimately she wanted to be on the team with Ravi. She wanted to be with him, and couldn't imagine bringing herself to hurt him in any way. Looking at Ravi's eyes, she could only imagine that he was feeling much the same.

They were interrupted as Blaze darted between them, leaping into the air and hitting a split-kick that knocked them both down, stunning them. He looked between the two, trying to decide which one to go for. Ravi was the one who had higher scores than him in pretty much every other area, so he ended up going straight after him. Not allowing him the opportunity to regroup, he grabbed one of Ravi's arms, leaving him wide open for a shot to the ribs that drove all the air out of him. He followed up with a kick to the face that felt like it ripped his jaw clean off. Ravi hit the floor and was barely able to move, finding himself being rolled off the mat by one of the medics.

He was disappointed he hadn't made it all the way, but as he was getting checked over by the medic, he could see another cadet coming off the mats. It was now down to only Blaze and Roxy for the overall winner. Roxy looked a little wobbly on her feet, while Blaze still seemed to have that confidence about him that he always did. Cadets started cheering them both on as they started trying to feel out what each other had left.

They exchanged some quick attacks, but as exhaustion became a factor, Roxy ended up going for a somewhat desperate gambit, moving in for a takedown, hoping for a submission. She managed to get his arm and was twisting, trying to force him down. Blaze was on one knee, but knew his brace wouldn't last forever. He grabbed her hair, yanking her head back and forcing her to let go. As soon as she did, he grabbed her nose, which he had seen her taking a shot to earlier and pulling at it hard. Her eyes watered up, and she was unable to see, giving him all the time he needed. Skipping backwards to give himself the room for a wind up, he threw a spinning back kick, knocking her straight to the floor. Roxy, lay there for a moment, looking like she was going to try and get back up, but then her arms gave out under her and she flopped back to the mat. She was done.

"Nicely done Blaze!" Jason congratulated him as he held up his hand. "Maybe you'd like to give an old champ a go some time."

"It'd be an honour sir." Blaze replied as he looked to Roxy, who was starting to get attended to. He could see Ravi kneeling by her side, checking that she wasn't seriously hurt. Carter called them all back to the mat, asking them to line up.

"Alright cadets, today's been a difficult one for all of you. I have to say everyone here showed incredible ability." Carter told them. "However, we've tabulated our results and we've decided on the bottom six."

"Ramierez!" Angela called out. "Eddison, Snipes, Wilson, Li and Forrester. Thank you for your efforts. You should all be very proud of yourselves, but I'm afraid this is as far as you go. You've all been cut."

"Now, despite what my colleague here would have you believe, we're not all complete sadists." Carter told them. "Tomorrow, you all have the day to rest before the next assessment. I suggest you all do that because after that…I have a feeling you'll need it."

"You're all dismissed." Commander Shaw told them. The cadets started to file out, while Ravi checked on Roxy.

"Are you alright?" He asked her. "That last shot…"

"Yeah, Blaze really should register that foot of his." She muttered. "It hits like a truck."

"Do you want me to…?"

"I'll be fine Ravi." She told him, looking around to make sure that they were now alone, before drawing in and kissing him. She parted from him, but she felt something was wrong. He didn't seem to be kissing her back. "Ravi?"

"What?" He asked her.

"Is everything alright?" She asked him. Unfortunately, everything wasn't alright. He could only look at her.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine." He told her. "It's just…I'm wondering if you're OK."

"Oh, I'll be fine." She told him, grunting as she got up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find as many bath salts as I can lay my hands on and I'm going to soak for a few hours!"

As she limped away, Ravi ran his hands over his face. He was proud of Roxy. She had richly deserved to get as far as she had, and he wasn't even sure if there wasn't a chance she would have won. Unfortunately though, now more than ever, it became clear to him that his hopes of the decision being made for them were fading fast. Roxy had cemented herself as being one of the strongest and most likely candidates to become a Ranger, which now meant the moment he was dreading was inevitable. He was going to have to tell her that soon, they'd need to make a life-changing choice.


	14. No Good Choices

In the mess hall of Grid Battleforce, Roxy was eating some oatmeal, and the whole situation could only be described as painful. It was painful because the oatmeal was not particularly good that day, it was painful because after Jason's gauntlet, which she was only minutes away from winning, earning her a hard-fought second place pretty much every inch of her was bruised, swollen and felt like it was falling apart, but most of all, it was painful because she could feel Zoey's pained gaze on her as she ate.

"You know, normally when someone stares at me this much I expect them to buy me dinner or at least a cinema ticket." Roxy commented in an off-hand way.

"Sorry." Zoey said, sucking her teeth. "For the first time I feel like I might have just dodged a bullet getting cut. Yikes!"

"Tell you what? How about I lie on the floor so you can start kicking me?" She joked casually, gesturing to the floor.

"No, I don't mean it like that, it's just...you're saying that one of the Rangers made you all fight like that?" She asked, noting the number of people around about them sporting notable injuries. The infirmary had been incredibly busy since the gauntlet, as cadets who had managed to make the cut tried to make sure they hadn't managed to survive being cut based on score, only to end up having to pull out due to injury. As unfair as it sounded on paper, they had a time-frame they were planning on keeping to and that meant if anyone wasn't fit to complete the assessment they were going to be cut. It was brutal but at least part of what they were testing was people's ability to get back up and into the fight again. "He isn't one of the ones that was evil was he?"

"I haven't checked...I don't think so." She replied, shortly before her phone buzzed. She checked it and a bright grin split her face.

"Let me guess, Ravi?" Zoey asked her.

"He says he wants to take me to the park." Roxy said excitedly. It didn't sound like much, but since the park was where they first 'met', at least as far as Ravi was aware since he was blissfully ignorant of the fact Roxy had been pursuing him for a while and had set up the whole chance meeting there, it was a special place to them. It was somewhere they always loved going, even spending St Valentine's Day there. She put her phone away. "So, what were you doing while I was getting introduced to several sets of knuckles?"

"Oh, nothing special." Zoey told her. "Just working away and..."

She saw the way Roxy was looking at her with a feigned innocence, resting her chin on her hand.

"...And you already know don't you?" Zoey asked. Roxy just nodded. "Yeah, so Nate came to the laundry and asked me to go to the woods with him."

"Mhmmmmm?" Roxy asked as Zoey thought back, smiling a little.

"It was amazing; it was just an absolutely great day!" Zoey told her. "We were out there in the woods, with all the animals, they're really wonderful, we really have a beautiful city thanks to the green-zone legislations. I think I'll probably vote for Mayor Daniels again..."

"So, you were out in the woods." Roxy interrupted her, trying to get back to the good stuff.

"Oh, we had the best time! It was amazing! He had the best food and everything!" Zoey told her. "It was just the absolute best and..."

"So, what did you get up to?" Roxy asked, cocking an eyebrow, hoping for something juicy.

"We set up his...I mean OUR devices!" Zoey replied. "I still can't believe he's given me partial credit for the invention. My name is officially on the patent for a Nate Silva creation! Isn't it great?"

"Wait...what?" Roxy asked.

"The devices. You know, the invisible fences?" Zoey asked as she saw Roxy just staring at her. "The devices that emit a sonic signal that encourages animals to keep away from the road. You don't remember me talking about it?"

"Uh...yeah, sure." Roxy answered, looking completely blank. "So, you went out with Nate for the whole day to set up some machines in the woods?"

"Yeah, and it was amazing!" Zoey squealed as she pulled up some pictures on her phone. "Thanks to these devices, there should be a lot less animals running onto the road and getting knocked down. I can't believe I got to work with Nate Silva on one of his creations!"

Just then, Zoey's phone bleeped. She'd set a reminder on it to tell her when her break was finished. She just sighed.

"Alright, I need to go. Some idiot put a pair of red boxer shorts in the morning load and unless we want a whole base full of pink uniforms, I have a lot of work to do."

As Zoey skipped away, still buoyed by her day working with her idol to head back to the laundry to ensure the entire base wasn't walking around wearing clothes that made them look like cotton candy, Roxy just blinked, before looking up at the ceiling.

"Seriously?" She asked.

In his dorm, Ravi was sitting with his books, trying to study, but he just couldn't concentrate. He'd texted Roxy to tell her that he wanted to take her to the park that night, but that was as far as his plan had progressed. He knew he had to talk to her, to make sure they discussed rule 34C and what it meant for them, but after that...he really didn't know what to say. He hadn't even figured out his own decision on the subject.

So far, he had figured out that there were four main options he could foresee out of the whole deal. The first was that he resign from the Ranger program.

He'd not only been in the military, but he'd been a fan of the Rangers since he was a little boy, and the thought of becoming a Ranger, one of the super heroes from the stories he'd loved growing up was as much something he loved as the fact it was going to be the most elite and exclusive branch of the military in the world. It was something he had wanted so badly he could taste it from the moment he'd heard about it, but he'd never factored in one thing, the fact there could be anything in his life he might want even more.

Roxy was a revelation to him; it was like waking up having been asleep for his whole life. Although they'd only been together for months, he already felt like she completed him, made him more of the kind of man he never knew he could be, never mind wanted to be his whole life. He could see a real future for them. It was difficult for him to imagine a future she wasn't a part of in some manner. He already could see himself introducing Roxy to his mother properly; he could see them getting somewhere to live together. He could even see them having a family if fate was so kind. It was a big future, and one that made his heart swell just thinking about it.

He'd already reasoned it out; he didn't NEED to be a Ranger to have a career in the military. He could always get another job on the base. Perhaps lead a squad or become a drill sergeant or something. With his credentials, he didn't have to worry about finding another job to apply for, he was pretty confident that he could walk into virtually any position on the base. Perhaps even his mother's or General Burke's job when the day came, but if he left, he could be with Roxy, even if she did become a Ranger. He'd get to guarantee he'd keep the woman he loved, and he'd serve his country. The only thing he didn't know was if Roxy would want to be a Ranger if he wasn't. Would she feel like she was rubbing his face in what could have been every time she strapped on her morpher?

Another option was that they both walked away. If they both left, then it was a complete non-issue. Ravi could still get another job to help Grid Battleforce in another way. Roxy could too if she wanted, or if she decided she was done with it, he was sure she could do pretty much anything she set her mind to. It would avoid the whole situation where she would feel like she was rubbing his face in it by being a Ranger, but it would also mean neither of them would get the position. He also had to worry about how he would feel sending others into danger.

Although he'd passed numerous exams on strategy and tactics, the one thing he could never figure out was how his mother, or General Burke or any of the other officers could send others out knowing they might not make it back. If any of the Rangers that did get sent out because he walked away paid the ultimate price would he be able to live with himself? If someone died because one of the Rangers wasn't in position or wasn't fast or strong enough to be where they needed to be would he blame himself and question if they could have been saved if he had been there?

He had, he was ashamed to admit, also considered Roxy resigning as an option, but just the thought crossing his mind made him want to retch. She'd never given him any reason to believe being a Ranger was as important to her as it was to him, but she'd gone through all the same trials he had. Hell, she had lasted in the gauntlet longer than he had. She wouldn't have gone through all that if she didn't have the passion that he had for the position would she? He also knew she would make a brilliant Ranger, and that any team would be lucky to have her. He couldn't possibly ask her to step aside so he could get the job, that was...even putting it that way sounded far too selfish to even consider. Then there was the final option...if they both became Rangers, they would have to call it off.

It killed him inside to think of asking her to break things off with him. It was literally the last thing he wanted. He did know that even if they both did join the team they'd not be Rangers forever. How long would it really last? An average tour of duty in the military lasted typically a few months. Most, unless they re-enlisted or extended their service, only signed onto the military for a couple of years at a time. If they both became Rangers, they likely wouldn't be Rangers for more than that before Grid Battleforce was looking to replace them surely right? They could both serve, do their duty to the best of their abilities and then re-visit their relationship when that was over couldn't they?

He couldn't believe he was even asking that. How did someone go up to the love of their life and ask them 'hey, do you mind if we break up for a couple of years?' Would she be able to forgive him? A lot could happen in those couple of years. Roxy was an incredible person, would she meet someone else? Someone that could give her what she needed and didn't have to wonder about choosing between duty and her?

He got onto the phone and started to book their favourite restaurant for that night. He still had no idea what he was going to say, what they could choose; he just knew that whatever decision was made they had to make it together. He owed Roxy at least the right to be involved in the decision whatever that was, and if he was going to ask her to help him make one of the most impossibly loaded decisions he had ever had to make, then at very least he would ensure he would give her the perfect night before hand.

In another part of the base, Blaze was strutting around like the cock of the walk. He'd always known that unarmed combat was his strongest area, and he was glad that he had won Jason's gauntlet and put in a good showing for himself with the review board.

The candidates were being whittled down thick and fast now, and he knew it wouldn't be long until they were making their final decision on who would be their three Rangers. There were rumours of more to come later, but like many similar projects, Grid Battleforce wanted to see what the results of its investment were before they started cranking out more Rangers. He had absolutely no idea how much all of the technology that went into creating a Ranger cost, but he'd heard rumours of everything from six to nine figures for even a single Ranger, so it was understandable they wanted to see how three worked out before they started cranking out more. For all he knew or cared they were going to end up recruiting Rangers by the dozen in years to come, but for now it was only three and he was damned if he was going to come this far only to go home now.

His parents had always taught him that failure, that coming in second, was not an option. The family had been brought up to go for the throat for so many generations, that there were rumours they'd been the ones that led the charge at Bunker Hill. Whether or not that was true, frankly even they didn't know but since the Winchesters were so rich and powerful it wasn't as though too many people dared to question them on their family history.

He came around a corner, seeing Jason and Carter discussing something while standing by the ice-cream machine in the hall. Jason just seemed to be staring at it in bemusement while Carter talked to him.

"So, I think that could be a really good assessment...oh, Hi there!" Carter greeted Blaze, quickly changing the topic when he saw him. "Um...sorry, we're just kind of surprised to see an ice-cream machine here so it's taking a while to choose. You go ahead if you want."

"Thanks." Blaze replied, stepping in. He had no interest in ice-cream, but getting close to the assessment panel was never going to be a bad thing. He'd learned from his dad long ago that it never hurt to be around the right people whenever possible. "I like a lemon sorbet after a tough workout."

"You in the gym after yesterday?" Jason asked, sounding impressed. "Big ups for the commitment."

"You know, always give it your all." Blaze agreed. "I have a karate class down at Riptide later but I guess I should have enough time for this to settle."

"Hey, when I was your age I practically lived at my local juice bar." Jason told him.

"Yeah, I like to give back when I can." Blaze told them, holding up the sorbet. "I'll catch you around."

As he walked away, Jason leaned in towards Carter.

"So, what do you think about that guy?" Jason asked him. Carter just shrugged.

"It's a little early to tell." Carter replied. "He was impressive yesterday but that doesn't mean he's got the right stuff."

"You have your doubts?" Jason asked.

"No, I'm just reserving judgement." Carter corrected him as he finally decided on a mint ice cream.

"I don't know, I kind of like the vibe I'm getting from him." Jason replied. "Confident, strong, good in a fight, guts..."

"In other words you see him as a mini-me." Carter chuckled.

"Hey, it's nothing like that!" Jason stated. "But since you ask, what would be so bad with replicating what's worked before?"

"I just think we should see how things pan out a little first before we're making a judgement call." Carter told him. "But yes, I see some of the confidence you're talking about. I just hope it doesn't make him sloppy."

"Do you think I was sloppy?" Jason asked him. Carter just sighed.

"Need I remind you that when we went on that moon mission I was the only one with the foresight to bring a blaster?" Carter asked him. Jason just laughed as he selected a plain vanilla.

"You know, some people would say bringing a weapon just showed you weren't the strongest fighter and weren't confident you could take those cogs by yourself." Jason teased him.

"You call it a lack of confidence if you like." Carter replied as he walked away. "I call it smart."

Back in her dorm room, Roxy was getting ready for her night out with Ravi. He'd texted her to tell her he was taking her to the park. He hadn't said anything else, but it didn't really matter to her. To Roxy, it was enough to be spending time with him. She did understand his reluctance to be too forthcoming about their relationship in the early days. However, she did wonder when the day would come they'd get to do normal things other couples did. She wanted to take Ravi home to meet her parents, to introduce him to the people that mattered to him, to let her dad take him golfing while he talked about what his intentions were towards her. To have her mom no doubt embarrass her by showing Ravi a books upon books of her childhood photographs while singing her praises. She wanted all of it, and as time went by she was starting to wonder if there was something more troubling him.

He'd been quiet since the assessment. With the exception of the text he'd all but avoided her, but now that he had asked her out, she was hoping that she might get to talk to him about her concerns. She wondered if maybe that was what he had in mind too. He was always full of surprises, and it felt like something he'd do to just casually bring up the idea of going public with their relationship while they were spending time in their favourite spot in the park.

She heard the door open and a weary Zoey wandered in.

"So, are we having a whole base of Pink Rangers?" She asked.

"Not anymore." Zoey groaned. "Please tell me there are toaster pockets."

"In the cupboard." Roxy told her. "Ravi should be along shortly."

"Oh, right...thanks for the warning." Zoey replied. "I'll get the earplugs for when you get back."

"That...might not be the worst idea." Roxy said with a little smirk as Zoey put some toaster pockets into the toaster. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Roxy looked to Zoey, who just rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She groaned, heading into her room. Roxy went to the door, finding Ravi standing outside. He was wearing suit pants and a dark blue shirt.

"Wow, you look great!" Roxy complimented him.

"Yeah, you do too." Ravi replied. "So, are you ready?"

"Sure I am." She replied. As they left, the toaster popped up. Zoey checked the coast was clear, before heading out and grabbing her dinner. As she was about to head to her room, she paused, before going to the cabinet and getting out a pack of earplugs.

"Don't want to forget these." She sighed. "I'm not making THAT mistake again."


	15. A Dinner To Remember

In his lab, Nate was working on his latest project, when Ben and Betty came strolling in. They came up behind him as he was carefully working on the device.

"That feels kind of weird." The device said in a strange, distorted, mechanical voice, but with something of a weird Brooklyn accent. "My vision got better, but then suddenly dropped out!"

"Sorry about that, I obviously over-corrected." Nate stated. "That's why needed you to be active while I'm making these adjustments to your sensory network."

"Really?" The device asked. "Would you go poking around in a human's head while they were awake?"

"Actually, the vast majority of brain surgery is done while the patient is conscious for exactly the same reason." Nate told the device. "They need to know what a patient is feeling and so they need them to be able to tell them."

"So, you seriously just drill a hole in people's heads and poke around in their heads?" The device asked. "Gross!"

"Not personally, neurosurgery was never one of my main areas of study." Nate carried on.

"Well…it's still gross." The device responded. "Wait…wait…stop, stop right there! That seems perfect!"

"OK, lets give it a check. Can you read the first column of that table right there?"

"Lithium, Sodium…"

"OK, you can see it. How about colours. What colour is the wall?"

"Blue."

"And the table?"

"Silver…ish. It's kind of a stainless-steel thing…"

"OK, we're just about done here then." Nate responded. "So, do you want me to turn you off until I finish your body?"

"No, I just love being a disembodied brain on a table!" The device said sarcastically. Nate turned the device off, then let out a shriek as he turned around, seeing Ben and Betty standing behind him, grinning brightly.

"Would you please not do that?" Nate blurted out in a panic. "My family has no history of cardiac issues, and I'd really not like to be the first."

"Whatcha working on there?" Betty asked him.

"I was working on the neural interface that will be the centre of the Beat Bot's systems." Nate informed them as he gestured to some blueprints. "I think I've got the first one almost done."

"It sounds a little cranky." Betty commented as she picked up the robot 'brain' and started looking at it. "Why's it so...you know…testy?"

"Because the Beast Bots have animal DNA in them and because they'll have to work closely with the Rangers, I thought it might be helpful if they had personalities. It just…I don't know, it feels right, you know? They're not just robots, they're Beast Bots. They should have the same right to their own personality as anyone else."

"I guess so." Ben responded with a shrug as Nate took the 'brain' back off Betty and put it safely on a shelf for later use.

"Look, not that I mind these little visits, but what are you doing here?" Nate asked them. "This project is classified…"

"And we have clearance." Betty interrupted him. "You know, kind of how we know the code for the door."

"That doesn't mean you're meant to just…you know what? Never mind." Nate responded as he tried to brush it off. "I have a lot to do so how about you just tell me what you want and that can get you out of here faster."

"We were wondering how your trip to the woods went." Ben stated. Nate just looked to him rather puzzled.

"What?" He asked.

"You know, that trip out into the woods you took with Zoey?" Betty asked him.

"Oh…Oh right, that trip!" Nate responded, trying to think of an answer. "It was very productive."

"Productive?" Betty asked.

"Yes, we got all the invisible fences installed and activated." Nate told them. "I have the ability to monitor their maintenance from here, we'll need to renew their Morph-X supply in a couple of hundred years, so…yeah, very productive."

Ben just turned to Betty and mouthed the word 'productive' with a quizzical look on his face as Nate turned back to his work, trying to ignore them, hoping they would go away. Betty came right up next to him.

"You know, I looked at those plans, it shouldn't have taken more than…I don't know…a couple of hours to set them up but you were gone the whole day." Betty pressed on in an innocent little voice. "Kind of makes me wonder what you two were doing with the rest of that time."

"We were…working." Nate stammered, trying to avoid the twins' gaze. God, he wished they'd just leave him alone and stop talking about Zoey. He had invited her along because she was partly responsible for the design and he figured she'd want to be there to see them activated, but other than that, he just liked spending time with her. Sure, he had a habit of degenerating into a blathering idiot that was barely capable of functioning whenever she was around, but he did like how he felt when she was around. It was odd, he felt both completely humiliated at how much of a moron she had to think he really was and was just too polite to say, and he felt a little tense in his stomach and his chest whenever she was looking his way, but somehow it also felt good. The only thing he did know was that he didn't want to talk to Ben and Betty about it. It was bad enough Zoey probably thought he was an idiot without adding them to the list. "We did some calibrations and some stress tests, then we observed the animals to make sure that the frequency we chose works on as many species as possible."

"Really?" Betty asked. "You just…worked?"

"Yeah, what else would we be doing?" Nate asked as he went to his computer. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I do have a lot to do here so I could do with some privacy!"

As he ushered them out the door, closing it behind them, Ben and Betty just looked to each other.

"What the hell?" They both yelled.

"Those two are hopeless!" Ben complained.

"You said it bro." Betty sighed, shaking her head as they walked away.

Elsewhere in the city, Ravi and Roxy had gotten to the restaurant. It was a nice little bistro in the middle of the park. It was kind of a high-end place, but Ravi hadn't minded springing for it on their first official date. The park was a very special place to them, being the place where they met, at least as far as he remembered it. They'd already agreed that it was 'their place', somewhere they always wanted to come for special occasions. Birthdays, holidays…he'd even had thoughts of bringing her here when he wanted to introduce her properly to his mom, or, when the day came, when he asked her to marry him. He never for a minute suspected that they'd be here to have what was going to be one of the most difficult conversations of his life.

Roxy still seemed blissfully unaware of the reason they'd come here. She was staring at a picture they'd bought from a photographer only a little while before. They were both standing by the fountain where Ravi had his 'accident'. He'd bought her a rose, and they posed for the picture. He'd paid for two copies. He wanted her to have something to remember happier times if the worst happened.

"I think this turned out great, don't you?" Roxy asked him.

"Yeah, it's great." Ravi said a little distantly as the waiter poured them some wine. They'd already ordered their starters and main courses, but this bistro made everything from scratch, meaning that it took a little while. Ravi was painfully aware of how long it was taking, and he was starting to run out of ideas on how to delay the conversation about regulation 34C.

"Is everything alright?" Roxy asked him.

"Why would you ask that?" He asked, a little taken aback.

"You've been pretty quiet all night." Roxy told him.

"I was just enjoying being with you." He replied, taking her hand. Roxy took a deep breath.

"Ravi, you're really starting to worry me." Roxy responded. "Please, can you just tell me why we're really here?"

Ravi almost wished she didn't know him as well as she did. He took a deep breath. Where was the waiter with the starters when he needed him? He squeezed her hand gently.

"Roxy, there is something I want to talk to you about." Ravi told her. "How…how much of the Ranger handbook have you read?"

"The Ranger handbook?" She asked, looking a little surprised. She had the feeling that something was troubling him deeply, and while he was always super serious about his duty to the base and to the program, she was expecting something a lot worse than just some concerns about the fact they might soon be Rangers. "Is that what's worrying you? Ravi, you are killing it! Even with Blaze's performance in that gauntlet you're still a shoe-in. You've been top of the tables since day one!"

"Roxy, how much of it have you read?" He asked her again. She now looked a little worried. Ravi was dreading the answer long before it came out of her mouth.

"I...kind of flicked through it when I got it." She told him, before seeing the look on his face. She then rolled her eyes. "Alright, I got about a dozen or so pages in before it all just seemed exactly the same as the Grid Battleforce code of conduct. I didn't want to read the same thing twice."

That was exactly what Ravi was dreading. He was hoping that she'd at least be aware of the rule, but would have thought that it was just silly and that she was just planning to ignore it. She respected Grid Battleforce, but she didn't have the same military upbringing Ravi did, and she'd always been a little more relaxed with her attitude to rules. She told him how she had been put in detention many times through school. He pulled it out, opening the book to the correct page, something he could now do instinctually. He slid it across to her.

"Not exactly the same." He told her. "34C."

She took the booklet and started reading. Her face scrunched up as she read it over and over. He wondered if his face did that. He could see her trying to comprehend what she was reading and what it meant. She let out almost a nervous little laugh.

"Fraternisation?" She asked, before looking to him, almost like she was wondering if this was all some kind of sick, cruel joke that had gone horribly wrong. Like he was trying to be funny but instead only upset her. "Dating's not allowed?"

"That's what it says." Ravi sighed. Roxy looked to him, seeing the look on his face. She could tell this was what was troubling him. She could see that there was writing on the wall, and she did not like what it said. She didn't like it one bit. She let out a nervous laugh, trying to make it all sound as ridiculous as it seemed.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked. "This is what's worrying you? Screw the rules! What does it matter?"

"It matters because it's their rules!" Ravi put down flatly. "They're the ones running the program, they can make any rules they like and we have to live with it."

"Ravi, they can't tell us who we can and can't date! That's just ridiculous!" She put down flatly.

"Roxy, we're going to be responsible for people's lives. They have to be sure we're going to make that our priority, not each other." Ravi reminded her. "If there was a burning building, and two people are trapped, me and some random guy you've never met before. Can you say with all honesty that you would leave me and save the other guy?"

"Well, it depends." She said a little uncertainly. "I mean, is one of you unconscious? If so, that's the person we should save first…"

"Roxy, that…that's not the point!" Ravi told her.

"Well it really kind of is!" She snapped in response. "They're trying to say we can't make decisions based on priority of life because we're dating?"

"Roxy, it's the rule."

"Well it's a stupid rule!" She snapped.

"Would it make you feel better if I agreed?" Ravi asked her. "Well, feel better because I think its stupid too, but there's nothing we can do about it, it's their rule!"

Just then, the waiter arrived with their first course.

"Who has the pate?" He asked.

"Over here." Ravi said quietly, inwardly wishing the waiter had been just a few minutes earlier.

"Then that leaves the bouillabaisse for the lady." The waiter answered, setting it down in front of Roxy. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, we're fine." Roxy said in a barely-audible whisper. The waiter looked to Ravi, who just nodded and left the table. Ravi and Roxy both just stared at each other for a moment.

"You should…um…" Ravi said. "The soup's going to get cold."

"You think I give a damn about the soup right now?" She asked. She sat back in her seat. "So, what are our options?"

"Options?" Ravi asked her.

"Ravi, I know you. I know you probably thought about this for ages before bringing it up." She responded sadly. "OK, so what's the options?"

In another part of the city, Blaze was in the Riptide Gym, arriving for his class. He didn't genuinely care about any of the students, one of the main reasons he only took the advanced class was because he barely had to teach any of them anything. He only even took the classes because people were willing to pay to be able to say they had trained under a world champion, and because it was a way to make it look like he was 'giving back to the community', with minimal effort. He didn't really care too much about what people thought about him, but his father had taught him long ago that a little philanthropy made people very quickly ignore a lot of the other, less admirable things he was doing.

He was about to head into the changing rooms when a kid scrambled out of a booth.

"Blaze!" He called out. "Blaze, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Do I know you?" Blaze asked.

"No…well, not yet. I just…wanted to know if I could join your class." The kid asked him. Blaze stood and looked him up and down. The kid did look to be in decent shape, but that didn't mean to say that he was any good. He could be a lacrosse player or a swimmer or something.

"I teach an advanced class." Blaze told him.

"Well, that's what I'm looking for!" The kid replied. "My dad…he kind of had a falling out with my old sensei. I'm still friends with the guy but dad told me I can't take any more of his classes. He didn't say I couldn't do karate though, so I was hoping I could join your class."

"Really? Just like that." Blaze asked him a little arrogantly. "You think you're good enough?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't." The kid replied. "Look, all I want is to learn karate. I've been hooked since my first lesson."

"Who taught you?" Blaze asked him.

"Mike Barnes." The kid answered. Blaze thought about it for a moment.

"It's been a while since I've heard that name on any of the tournament rosters but…he's pretty good." Blaze conceded. "Like I said, it's brown belt or above only."

"I'm a brown belt!" The kid rushed out. Blaze just nodded.

"OK, we'll give you a try out. Your money is as good as anyone else's." Blaze stated. "What's your name kid?"

"Devon." He answered.

"Alright Devon, get changed and warmed up and we'll see how it goes." Blaze replied.

"I will!" Devon replied with a bright smile. He only had one problem, his lessons with Mike were far from a formal affair. He didn't do the whole belt system or even really worry about dressing properly. He pulled out his phone, dialling. "Mike? Yeah, I need a favour. I need a gi and a brown belt in like…twenty minutes."

Back at the restaurant, Ravi and Roxy continued to sit, looking at each other as they discussed their options. The starters remained on the table completely untouched. Neither of them was thinking about the food, as wonderful as it was.

"So, those are our options?" Roxy asked.

"Those are the only viable options." Ravi told her. "The military isn't exactly known for being quick to change its regulations. We could both quit."

"Ravi, do you seriously think you could live with that?" She asked him.

"Hey, as long as I'm in the service I'll be happy." Ravi stated. "I'll…"

"Really?" She asked. "You'd be happy watching someone else, someone who isn't as good as you running around in the spandex?"

"Well, actually it's not…"

"I don't give a flying FUCK what the suits are made of!" She interrupted him abruptly. "You think you'd be able to be cool about watching other people do the job? What if someone died Ravi? Are you really telling me you wouldn't be killing yourself questioning if you could have saved them?"

Ravi didn't answer, but his silence said all it needed to. She knew him intimately. He believed in the idea of serving his country and his people to his core. He would always take personal responsibility for anything that happened that he could potentially affect. If he was on the team, he would still always question if there was something else, he could have done, but if he wasn't even there? He'd feel like he abandoned his duty, even if it was strictly speaking never even his. No matter how much of his own happiness he would sacrifice in the process.

"I…I could drop out." She told him.

"Roxy…"

"It's never meant as much to me as it has to you." Roxy stated. "I'll hand in my resignation tomorrow. If that's what it takes for us to be together, I'll quit."

"Roxy, I can't ask you to do that." Ravi protested.

"You're not asking, I'm saying I'll do it!" Roxy stated.

"Roxy, you can't quit any more than I can. You've come too far, you've earned this." Ravi reminded her. "You can't tell me you wouldn't be having a lot of the same thoughts if something bad happened."

"But if we both make it…"

"Then we know the best people made it." Ravi concluded, reaching out for her, cradling her face with his hand. "Our lives could depend on the people on our team. I know I would only want the best person for the job watching my back. If that turns out to be you, then I know there are few people I'd rather trust my life to."

"But that would mean…"

"Yeah, I know." Ravi finished off. He could see her starting to shed some tears, it was something he was expecting, he doubted it would be long before he was joining her. "Being a Ranger…how long could it last anyway? A couple of years? Maybe we could wait and see if we still feel the same then?"

"But we couldn't be together while we were Rangers?" She asked. He just shook his head.

"I don't really see how we could." He answered her. "I mean, its still possible one or both of us wouldn't get chosen, but the closer we get, the more I think we have to be prepared for the fact we're probably going to have to…you know…"

"So, what are we doing?" She asked him. "Do we wait and see if one or both of us get cut? Just pretend this isn't done…"

"Do you really think that'll make things any easier?" He asked her. She just shook her head.

"No, I don't." She replied, getting her stuff together.

"Roxy, please just stay and finish dinner…"

"Goodbye Ravi." She said, wiping away some tears.

"Roxy!" Ravi called after her as she left. He thought about going after her, but after this, he thought better of it. He somehow thought he would be the last person she'd want to see, perhaps for good. He'd hoped to make the night as easy as possible, but now he was thinking maybe he'd just built it up into something that he never intended it to be. The waiter came back.

"Is everything alright sir?" He asked. "Is something wrong with your starter?"

"No, it's…the food's fine." Ravi told him. The waiter could see how upset he looked, and the way Roxy had left and quickly put the pieces together.

"Would you like me to fetch the main course?" He asked. Ravi just nodded.

"I…I guess." He replied. The waiter just dutifully took the plates and headed to the back, leaving Ravi alone at the table. Ravi just held his head in his hands.


	16. Carter's Assessment

The following day, the cadets assembled in a combat simulator, which was set up for an urban combat simulation, standing to attention in front of the panel.

Jason's gauntlet had whittled down their numbers nicely, and they were now down to only a dozen candidates left. As well as those that were cut as a result of the rather brutal exercise, another couple had been left with little choice but to pull out. Sometimes willpower alone wasn't enough to get someone back on their feet, that was just a sad fact of life. However, such was the nature of the selection process that the panel couldn't wait until everyone was up and about just in the interest of being "fair". Sometimes, they just had to accept luck was a factor.

The cadets were all still rather bruised up, and noticeably still suffering their lumps, but that wasn't the worst of it. Ravi couldn't help looking towards Roxy, who was standing in the front row, trying to put a brave face on things. It was still eating him up inside that they'd called it quits. She'd sent him a message when she got back to her dorm but he still didn't know how to respond, or even IF he should respond. He was still unsure himself if he had made the right call. Being a Ranger was something that would last what? Two years? Five? Perhaps six at the most? Roxy was the love of his life, that was something that could last him until he breathed his last, some day in the future, old and grey and surrounded by kids and grandkids that he complained didn't visit them often enough.

It was only his sense of duty that made him feel like he needed to continue. If he tried his best, gave it his all and was cut, was told he wasn't good enough for the Ranger program, then that would be one thing. If there was someone better for the job he could live with that, but if he pulled out, just quit and let someone else take the position, he would never forgive himself if anything went wrong. He'd always wonder if he caused it by thinking of himself instead of the people and letting someone less suited shoulder that responsibility. Roxy, for her part, was clearly hurt, but he couldn't help admiring her strength. She had shown up, front-row, ready for the exercise. He wished things could be different, he wished he could make things better. He wished that stupid rule didn't exist, but there was nothing he could do about it. Right now, he could only hope that in time she would forgive him. He wouldn't even blame her if she moved on and found someone else, as much as he hoped that they could rekindle what they had at a better time.

"Alright cadets, you stand here ready for a personal favourite of mine, urban armed combat!" Carter called out. "Behind me you will see a building. Inside that building, you will face a hostage situation. Your objective is to resolve that situation and free the hostages."

"You will be equipped with these." Jason told them, holding up a paintball gun. "A little lower tech than we're used to but for today it'll do. This will be used to assess your accuracy and let us know who shoots what. When you collect your paintball gun, you'll be given your ammunition, each member of your three-man team will be given their own colour so we can score you accordingly."

"The scenario is as follows, there are four hostages in the building, and an indeterminate number of hostage takers. There are multiple entry points; how you tackle the situation will be entirely up to you." Angela told them. "Needless to say, you will be scored on accuracy, time and most importantly whether or not you save your hostages."

"You'll be sent into the scenario in groups of three, and we'll select the teams. You will run the scenario several times; by the end of things we'll have enough data to cut half of you." Carter declared. "Alright, first group, Blaze, Parker, Beck, step on up and collect your paintball guns."

Blaze and two others stepped up to collect their weapons and their ammunition. Blaze was given green paintballs, while his team mates had pink and yellow.

"Alright, everyone step up to their mark!" Jason called out, gesturing to them. Blaze saw them turning away, and took the opportunity to take some pink paintballs, slipping them into his pocket. He stepped up to the line. "OK, your time starts...NOW!"

"OK, let's go, let's go!" Blaze called out, charging for the door, taking up position by the side, before swinging out and kicking it open. The three stormed into the building, sweeping the area with their guns, looking for the first of the hostage takers.

In another area of the city, Mayor Daniels was in his house, dealing with some business in his study. He was looking over some zoning maps with some of the most prominent members of the business community. He'd been a pretty good Mayor to Coral Harbour all things considered. He'd grown up in the city from a young age, working up from humble roots and so he liked to think he had a good grasp of what made the city tick, and more importantly what it needed.

He had found over his years in the position that his role was very much a balancing act, trying to balance as much as possible the needs of so many people. If he declared all the land public parks, then there was nowhere to build businesses and that meant there were no jobs, which meant that people very quickly couldn't afford to take care of their families.

However, if he gave businesses free rein over the city, then very quickly there'd be no leisure facilities. No parks, no gyms, no swimming pools, no social clubs. It wasn't enough for people to just have jobs; they also needed a reason to want to live there. No one wanted to live in a dirty, smoggy, overly-developed city. He was generally very good at keeping a good balance, with the city's harbours, parks and woods being a real feather in the cap that put Coral Harbour high on the list of the most desirable places to live several years running. Usually he was very good at it too, but of course, sometimes, people didn't quite see things that way.

"Look, all I'm saying is that's prime real-estate. If the city gives me planning permission, the mall I'm planning to build there will bring a lot of business in." One of the delegates told him.

"Yes, I'm well aware of your pitch, but if you..." He tailed off as there was a loud banging sound, like multiple explosions from right above them. He just coughed. "...as I was saying, if you remember the land has already been assigned to Grid Battleforce."

"Yeah, that and the Sonics' stadium." One of the others said. "How much land do they need?"

"Believe me, I understand your frustrations." Mayor Daniels said, looking to the plans. "Look, I've gone over this over and over and I honestly think this is the best balance for..."

There were more explosions, and a loud yelling and whooping from right above them. Mayor Daniels let out a sound from his throat that betrayed his aggravation.

"How many of these damn towers do they need? I thought this Morph-X was meant to be able to power a city with a few drops or something like that." One of them complained. "So why do they need so many towers all over the damn city?"

"Look, it's not just here they're developing for, Coral Harbour is going to be a testing ground." Mayor Daniels told them. "I have my reservations too but..."

He just stopped as more explosions came. He just breathed a deep sigh and looked to his visitors.

"Would you please excuse me gentlemen?" He said in a tone that barely disguised the depths of his frustration. He left the room and went to the stairs, heading up to the upper level. He pounded on the door, but there was no reply. He pounded harder; convinced it was possible that his son simply didn't hear him over the gunshots, explosions and screaming from his game. The door opened, and it wasn't his son that answered.

"Hey, Mayor D, how's things?" The young man answered. Mayor Daniels just sighed.

"Mike, always a pleasure." He said with the same diplomacy he normally reserved for his political opponents and cold-calling business callers. "Can I speak to my son?"

"DEVON!" Mike called into the room. "Your dad wants to talk to you!"

"I'm kind of on a roll here!" Devon called back. "What does he want?"

Mayor Daniels had heard enough and just pushed his way into the room. He was used to people trying to sweet-talk, coerce or bully him into doing what they wanted every day in his job, but he was damned if he was going to be forced to make an appointment to see his own son, especially not in his own damn house!

"DEVON!" Mayor Daniels roared. Devon paused his game and turned towards his father in his large, leather chair with built-in speakers. Mayor Daniels could hear the game all the way downstairs, he didn't even want to think of how loud it had to be for his son with speakers running all the way up either side of his head. How his son heard anything at all completely escaped him.

"What?" Devon asked him.

"Really? You can't think of any reason why I might be upset?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "I'm trying to conduct important business down there on behalf of the city and we can't concentrate because it sounds like you've got Seal Team Six in here for target practice!"

"You want me to turn it down?" Devon asked him. Mayor Truman looked completely taken aback by this. He was trying to help the whole city and all Devon could do was ask if he wanted him to turn down the noise so that his guests didn't think there was a war zone above their heads?

"That would be good for a start." Mayor Daniels said rather abruptly. "Is this what you're planning to do today?"

"I don't know." Devon said with a shrug. "We were going to head to the comic book store later I guess..."

"Devon, its Wednesday. It's the middle of the week." Mayor Daniels told him. "Do you know what kids your age are doing?"

"Here we go..." Devon groaned. He'd heard this so many times before that he could almost play out both sides of the conversation himself. He knew that his dad wanted him to be more like him, but they were very different people. Sure, when his dad was his age he was working to help the household because his parents didn't earn enough to run the house themselves, but that wasn't the situation he was in. He'd already graduated High School; he could go to college or get a job whenever he wanted. Was it really such a big deal if he had a bit of time to himself first after going to school non-stop since he was five?

"Don't take that tone with me!" Mayor Daniels snapped. Devon just turned off his console without even saving. He didn't care that he'd lost a couple of hours of gameplay in the process, he could easily make that up another time. He just wasn't in the mood to hear this lecture all over again. He grabbed his jacket.

"Mike, you want to get out of here?" Devon asked.

"Uh...OK." Mike replied. Devon didn't even stop to tell his dad where they were going or when they intended to be back. He really didn't want to fight with his dad, he'd done that enough lately. Mayor Daniels just shook his head in defeat, before heading back down to his guests.

Back at the assessment site, Blaze's team completed their run on the course. Hearing the call to cease fire, they all put the safety catches on their guns and pointed them in a safe direction as the panel came in to look around.

"Alright, you managed to complete the course in three minutes and forty seven seconds." Jason told them. "You're within a good threshold for time, now we just need to check out your objectives."

"None of the hostages have been shot." Angela said, checking the clothing on the volunteers that were posing as hostages. "So, that's a good sign."

"Pretty nice work on the hostage takers too." General Burke said, sounding impressed as he looked over some of the unfortunate volunteers. Many of them were so splattered by paint that they looked like a manic art piece. "A little trigger-happy perhaps, but the shots seem to have hit the mark."

"Wait, we have a problem here." Carter said, crouching down in a corner. "Alright, which one of you was using pink paintballs?"

One of the cadets held up his hand. Carter stood up and gestured to a propane tank that was sitting in the corner. There, right on the steel, was a pink paint splatter.

"Do you see a problem here?" He asked.

"I...I...I can't..." The cadet stammered. "I don't remember...I thought I hit..."

"You need to be careful; you can't just go in all guns blazing!" Carter told him. "Who was in this room?"

Three of the hostage takers and two hostages all held up their hands. Carter just sighed.

"You just killed six people." Carter told him.

"But..."

"Kid, your first duty is to the safety of those around you." Jason stated.

The cadet just sheepishly walked off to contemplate a mistake that had probably just cost him his spot on the team. As they all walked off the range, clearing it to be re-set for the next team, Blaze took the pink paintballs out of his pocket and dropped them out of sight. Carter, Jason and Angela were all heading back to their observation position.

"You put that in as a test right?" Angela asked with a knowing smile. Carter just smiled and nodded.

"One of the toughest lessons I ever learned." He replied. Angela just shook her head.

"Alright, next team up! Roxy, Ravi, Lance, you're up!" Jason called out. They all stepped up, taking their paintball guns.

"I...uh..." Ravi started to say as they were loading up. "I think that we can shave a couple of seconds off if we use..."

"Left hand entry?" Roxy asked. Ravi looked to her. It was the first time they'd spoken since the break up. He just nodded. "Sounds good. You good with that Lance?"

"As long as no one shoots me in the back." He responded as they all took up position.

"OK, you know the drill." Jason declared. "GO!"

Elsewhere on the base, Zoey was in the laundry with Ben and Betty, doing some folding. She'd been left with a huge load and the twins had been kind enough to offer to help. It was a tedious job, but far from the worst one in the laundry, and it did give them some time to talk.

"I don't know about you, but if I was Roxy, I might just have a little 'accident' with my paintball gun if you get my drift." Betty remarked as she worked through her bundle. Although Ravi and Roxy didn't broadcast their relationship openly, Ben, Betty and Zoey were all pretty close with Roxy. "A few dozen rounds straight to the..."

"Yeah, I think we get it." Zoey sighed. Being Roxy's roommate, she had been painfully aware of the relationship. "I know I'll get a lot more sleep now, but...I don't know, I really hope they figure things out. Roxy was really upset last night. I don't know if she's in the right head space for the rest of the assessment."

"What is there to figure out? They can't be together and be Rangers." Ben said with a shrug. They both looked at him. "Regulation 34C?"

"I know, but it's a dumb rule don't you think?" Betty asked. "I mean, it's one of those things that's a rule that makes you wonder why it's a rule in the first place. Like when some place said you weren't allowed to hunt deer from the second floor of a hotel or when a place made a law saying you couldn't paint pigeons and sell them as parakeets."

Ben and Zoey just looked at each other, then to Betty in disbelief.

"They're real laws! Look it up!" She protested. "The point is, it's a dumb rule, why would it matter if they were dating?"

"I don't know, but it's their rules, they make them." Zoey sighed. "I just wish it wasn't so rough on them."

"Them?" Betty asked her.

"What? Do you think Ravi will be doing cartwheels right now?" She asked. Just then, they heard a low rumbling growl.

"Ben!" Betty complained.

"What?" He asked.

"Ben, you've just had lunch!" Betty complained. "I just watched you hoover down three cheeseburgers."

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Ben protested.

They heard it again, only this time it was louder. They all looked around.

"OK, seriously, what is that?" Betty asked. Zoey's eyes suddenly went wide and she pointed behind them.

"Um...guys...don't...move...fast." Zoey told them.

"What is it?" Ben asked. Zoey just pointed behind them.

"Just...don't...panic." Zoey pressed on. Ben and Betty both turned around to see a live cheetah behind them. They both went pale and started to make panicked breaths as they started to back away around the counter.

"Is...is that a...?"

"Uh huh!" Ben confirmed. "We should run..."

"Ben, what good would that do? It's a freaking cheetah!" Betty reminded him. Zoey picked up a uniform and threw it on the floor near the large cat, hoping to distract it. It watched the uniform fly through the air, and land on the floor. It seemed to just stare at it, then back at them, almost like it was wondering what the hell they were doing.

"We should get out of here!" Ben whispered.

"How? The door's behind it!" Betty replied in a panic. Just then, Nate came in behind the cheetah.

"Guys, try to stay calm." He beckoned them. He started to approach the cheetah slowly. "Easy there big guy. It's OK, I know this place is unfamiliar, just...you took a wrong turn is all."

"Nate?" Zoey asked, looking extremely worried.

"He's one of my test subjects." Nate told her. "He's pretty gentle. Cheetahs aren't normally known for attacking humans, but it's for the best not to startle him."

"Startle HIM?" Betty asked, looking terrified. Nate approached it, beginning to pet the cheetah gently.

"He's on loan from the wildlife park. I don't know how he got out the lab." Nate told them, dropping some meat on the floor. The cheetah began eating. "I'll get him out of here. His handlers should be along to pick him up soon."

Zoey started to approach, slowly, cautiously as Nate reassured the cheetah. She felt a lot more confident now, seeing how gentle he was with Nate. Like any reasonable person, she'd been more than a little freaked out to see a big cat standing only a few feet from her, but now...now it really did seem like just a BIG cat.

"Hey...hey there fella." She whispered as she knelt down next to him. "I know these things are loud and they smell weird but...they're not so bad. They can't hurt you."

Nate looked to Zoey, completely amazed that she was approaching. She looked to him.

"Would it be alright if I...?"

"I think it might be alright." Nate assured her, seeing her just itching to pet the cat. "He was born in the park; he's used to the human handlers.

"He's incredible." Zoey responded as she started to pet him. "Is he part of...you know...?"

"I think it'd be a bit pointless to deny that now." Nate answered. "OK, I think we should be getting you back now. Come on!"

As he led the cat away, Zoey was still on her knees, watching them go with a bright smile on her face. Betty approached her.

"He's pretty amazing isn't he?" She asked.

"Uh huh!" Zoey answered.

"The cheetah's not bad either right?" She asked. Just then, they both heard a loud thud, turning in time to see Ben passed out on the floor. They both just looked to each other.

"You get his legs." Betty sighed as she grabbed his arms. "Come on bro. Let's go see if the infirmary has some smelling salts."

Back at the testing ground, Roxy, Ravi and Lance were nearing the completion of their exercise. They'd managed to clear out the building in excellent time and were just closing in on the last couple of rooms.

They got to the last room, at which they rested by the sides of the door. Lance took the point, kicking open the door.

He charged in, his eagerness to complete the exercise getting the better of him and took a few hits. Ravi and Roxy had held back, observing the situation first. Ravi had already clocked where the hostages were and where most of the gunmen were. He looked over to Roxy, locking eyes with her. She just nodded in response, he didn't need her to say it, he knew she had seen them all too.

When they made their move, without speaking so much as a word to each other, it was a thing of beauty to watch. Jason, Carter and Angela could only be impressed as they seemed to know exactly where each other was. Whenever one moved, the other covered them. They weaved a picture-perfect dance through the room, seamlessly sliding to wherever they needed to be to cover their most pressing attacker.

Ravi knelt down, shooting the gunmen either side of the hostages, just as Roxy used his shoulder to spring off, spinning in the air to catch the remaining gunman behind him. They came together in the middle of the room, looking at each other.

Ravi was lost for a moment as he looked at her. She seemed to be hesitant too, just staring at him, but as she raised up her gun, levelling it straight at his head, he didn't even flinch. Not even as the paintball sailed so close to his ear that he could feel it. He didn't even need to look behind him to know she'd hit one of the gunmen. He thought there were six, and he'd only counted five. Now he knew where the sixth went.

"Time!" Jason called out. "And...wow! That is...two minutes forty three! You're all going to have to work really hard to beat that time!"

He pointed to Lance as he got up.

"Dude, you're dead." Jason told him. "Step for a hint. Don't get killed, it really doesn't help the team much. Alright folks, lets clear the area and set up again!"

"That was..." Ravi started to say. "You did good."

"We both did." Roxy corrected him. As they both walked away, the assessment panel were all talking about what they had just seen.

"Seriously, that was incredible." Jason commented. "That was just...amazing."

"I have to agree, that was something else." Angela said, marking down some notes. "That wasn't just solid individuals, that's the kind of teamwork that normally takes years."

"I have to say those two are definitely high on my list." General Burke agreed. "Wouldn't you say so Commander Shaw?"

"Yes, yes of course." She responded.

"Alright people let's do this again!" Carter called out, selecting the next group. Commander Shaw could only look over to where Roxy walked away, looking completely miserable, and seeing the way Ravi looked after her. Suddenly her heart plummeted into her stomach, seeing Ravi look more miserable than she could ever remember.

"My God." She whispered. "What have I done?"


	17. Embarrassing Situations

The following day, the remaining cadets all assembled in the basement, right outside the laboratory. They knew that this was the deepest levels of the base, where the research that would revolutionise the energy industry and transform the world overnight was being developed. Of course not many of them were thinking about that right now, what they were thinking about was the fact that just on the other side of that door was the technology they were competing to use. Six of them remained, of which three would be the new team of Rangers.

It didn't take much of a leap of faith intellectually for them to realise why they were here. The final winners would end up utilising this technology, meaning that they needed to be familiar with it first. As resolute and stoic as they were trying to remain, they were all trying to seem, there was an undercurrent of excitement within them. Even those that were not chosen would actually get to handle the Rangers' technology.

The assessment panel arrived, at which they all stood to attention.

"At ease." General Burke told them, at which they all relaxed as much as it was possible for them to do so under the circumstances. "Today, you begin the very final, but most important part of your assessment. Behind this door is the technology you will be using, along with simulators that will give you all direct experience of what it will be like to pilot a Zord."

"Zords?" One of the cadets blurted out before he could rein himself in. "We get Zords?"

"The three candidates chosen will have access to some of the most powerful and advanced weapons systems ever created." General Burke said, trying to ignore the outburst. The cadet just looked somewhat sheepish. "Very shortly, you will begin an intensive course in the technology you will be required to wield. One week from today, three of you will be chosen as our Rangers."

"At this juncture, I would like to remind you all of the confidentiality clause you all signed." Commander Shaw said, her gaze catching Ravi as she spoke. She couldn't help pausing for a moment, thinking about the harm she had caused. Because of her, he'd been forced to make a difficult decision, one that had caused him more misery than all the accusations of nepotism ever had. Roxy too looked like she was only just staying in things because of a sense of duty, no doubt having already spoken to Ravi about the prospect of resigning. She would normally have thought such dedication to duty was an admirable trait she would be lucky to have in her candidates, but seeing the agony she had caused them, she couldn't help wondering how she had gotten it so wrong. She was nudged gently by General Burke, who mouthed to her, asking if everything was alright, before continuing. "If you speak about what you see behind this door, the program or the identity of the Rangers, you will spend the remainder of your natural life in a black site prison."

General Burke used his security clearance to open the door, allowing them into the laboratory. The cadets followed the assessment panel into the laboratory, somewhat in awe of what they were seeing. Before even seeing a single piece of Ranger tech, most of the computers and other technology in this lab existed only in theory as far as most of the world was concerned. Technology lightyears beyond what was available to the public was here right in front of them.

There was a stand a little way off with an array of weapons on it, blasters and swords by the looks of things.

"Ladies, gentlemen, welcome to the Command Centre." General Burke told them. "Now, the people you will be working with are some of the greatest minds on the face of the Earth."

"I'll TRY not to take that personally." Angela joked. General Burke just spluttered a little.

"Yes, well…as you can see the technology they're working on is here ready for you, and rest assured more is on the way. We will be giving you a week to become accustomed to it."

"A week?" One of them piped up. It was a pretty short time frame to get them used to such technology, particularly when they might be expected to use it in the field.

"You are the best and brightest of the entire group, I'm certain any of you will be up to the challenge." Commander Shaw told them. "For today, since it is something you've never encountered before, we're going to take you through to the simulator which will be set up for the schematics of the Zords. Each of you will spend time becoming accustomed to each of the attack vehicles, and from there we will assess not only who will be our Rangers, but which weapons systems and powers you will be best suited to."

"To take you through what this entails, let us introduce you to the brains behind all of this, Nate Silva. Nate, can I pull you away for a moment?"

Nate put down the device he was working on and turned to the cadets. Blaze almost felt his stomach drop straight out of his body the moment he saw him. THIS was Nate Silva? The kid with the glasses he'd been giving a hard time since he got there? HE was the one that was building the technology that would make them Rangers? He was starting to worry now, he knew the selection panel, he'd been working them for weeks, but Nate? Now all he could think about was all the times he called him names, all the times he taunted him about his appearance or messed around with him. Now, he was worried, what if Nate had a say in the decision? He tried to stay composed as Nate approached them.

Nate approached them, seeing Blaze in the front row. He could see the unsettled look on his face, but decided to say nothing. That said, he couldn't help feeling a certain sense of power, knowing that now Blaze was likely realising exactly who the "dweeb" he had been making fun of for months really was. He was far too scientifically minded to believe in anything as abstract as karma, but right now…he was seeing what people meant when they talked about it.

"Greetings." Nate began, ignoring Blaze, in the hopes of keeping him in suspense as long as possible. "As you know, next week we'll be selecting our Rangers. Before then, I'm going to be introducing you to the technology that will give you your powers."

Nate came right up to Blaze and smiled.

"I suggest you all pay attention." He told them. "It is quite powerful, and in the wrong hands…quite dangerous."

With that, he gestured them to follow him. Blaze just breathed a sigh of disbelief.

In another part of the base, Zoey was working away on the press, ensuring that the latest batch of laundry was presentable. Grid Battleforce enforced very strict uniform rules, something she was painfully aware of since that was just one of the many reasons she had been cut from the Ranger program. It still stung a little to think about. She had tried her best, but in the end, it was just one more door that life had closed in her face.

She didn't mind so much thinking about some of the candidates. Ravi was an absolute machine. If there was any such thing as an ideal candidate, Zoey couldn't think of many people other than Ravi that fitted that description. He got the top scores, he was always focused to the point of obsession, frankly she didn't mind losing out to him. She'd have been lucky to end up on a team with him.

Roxy, she could never imagine being mad at. As infuriating as some of her habits as a roommate could be, she was always one of the ones to help Zoey the most. She'd tutored her when others would have seen her as competition and shoved her away, she'd given her the books that she needed. She'd always hoped that she would end up on the team with Roxy.

She let her mind drift off a little as she tried to imagine that scene. The Ranger team, her, Ravi and Roxy. It was a scenario she could really have loved being a part of. Standing shoulder to shoulder with her best friend and…well…she hadn't so much met Ravi face to face, but since Roxy liked him so much and she had 'passed by' him often enough, she was sure he could grow on her. It was a great picture in her mind.

Unfortunately there was another image that came to her mind. Ravi and Roxy could still well be Rangers, something she would love to see, but the third slot, the person they relied on for their safety? It could be anyone, any of the remaining cadets, and one of those was Blaze.

She hated Blaze with a passion. It galled her to think of the smug little bastard being a Ranger. It was bad enough watching him swagger around the base when he was just a cadet, who had no more authority than anyone else, but believing he was because of his surname. She'd seen him throwing his weight around.

He was always the first to make sure everyone knew about it when he did something worthy of praise, but he was never around when it was time to take responsibility for anything that went wrong. He was quick to point out the flaws in others but aggressively shut down any conversation about his own shortcomings. He was talented enough, as much as she hated to admit it, but it did concern her to think that he might be in the position of having responsibility over the safety of people she cared about. The man had no regard for anyone but himself, the thought of him being a superhero was worse than a bad joke, it was downright terrifying!

The only comforting thought she had was the fact that she now knew that Nate was the one making all the Ranger technology. She hated the way that Blaze had treated him, she had seen him giving Nate a hard time from when she first arrived on the base. She wished she could be a fly on the wall and see Blaze's face when he realised who Nate was. He wasn't on the selection panel, but surely they'd have to take his opinion into account right? She had seen Blaze become a complete suck-up around the officers and other ranking officials on the base, and knew he was used to sliming his way into the favours of those in prominent positions. She almost wondered how much squirming he'd do now he realised he had to play nice with Nate.

She knew that Nate was a pretty easy-going guy. The time he took her out to the woods to install the new invisible fences had been a wonderful day. He never once talked down to her, or made her feel inferior. Well, not intentionally anyway. It was tough not to feel inferior when she was around him. He was a brilliant and talented young man, and being around him, around the man that made all the technology she was reading about in her favourite environmental journals for the last couple of years, it was tough not to feel like a child by comparison in his presence.

He was more than just smart though, he was also kind and caring. She still couldn't get over the image of him stroking a cheetah as casually as anyone else would a housecat. It was one of the most incredible things she'd ever seen. She couldn't for the life of her imagine being able to say that she had stroked a cheetah, but thanks to Nate, she now could. Her mind was a million miles away as she recalled the adorable image of Nate with the large cat.

She was snapped back to reality as her daydreaming caused her to lose her attention on the job she was doing. She had activated the press too early, when it wasn't closed, causing steam to blast out straight at her. She managed to get her hand up to block her face, but as she fell backwards to the floor, she could already feel a searing, agonising pain all the way up her arm.

She looked down to her arm, seeing that it was already turning a deep shade of pink. She'd managed to pull away before she was caught full on, but it was pretty clear she was going to need to see the medic. She shut down the press to prevent any more accidents, and got to her feet, before starting to make her way to look for the medic.

Back in the lab, Nate was taking the prospective Rangers on the tour, letting them see the various weapons he'd already developed for their use.

"Now, these are transport modules. With these, we can transport matter from one place to another with a simple command." He told them. "Roxy, would you be so kind as to hold out your right hand?"

Roxy looked a little bit hesitant, but she did as she was told. Nate punched a few keys into his controller.

"Now, if you'll all keep your eyes on that Morph-X Blaster right there." Nate told them. He completed the command, at which the blaster disappeared. They were all a little surprised, but before long Roxy noticed a weight in her hand. She turned and was stunned to see the blaster appearing in her hand.

"Wow! Now that could be useful!" She said. "Um…does it transport anything…?"

"Only objects within the field of the devices." He told her, taking the blaster back and putting it back on the rack. "Those of you chosen will be given devices that will be able to summon weapons to your location at any time, meaning that the storage and transport of weapons will be a non-issue. Now, for the best part."

He brought them all before a large device. It was a huge contraption, with three pods beneath a series of tubes.

"Those of you chosen will undergo your upgrade here." Nate told them.

"Wait, upgrade?" One of them asked. "What upgrade?"

"You are some of the best candidates we could find for the Ranger tech. Your physical and mental gifts have set you out from the others." He said, but wishing he hadn't as he saw Blaze still standing there. "However, that doesn't mean we can't improve upon it. When the towers are fired up at the public launch, the chosen candidates will all be standing right here in these pods. Morph-X will flow through this device, splicing your DNA with animal DNA, enhancing your strength, speed, reaction time…"

"Wait, wait, wait…hold up!" The cadet piped up again. "DNA? You mean you're going to what? Turn us into mutants?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite that way, but…yes, in a manner of speaking we will be mutating you…"

"You want to turn us into mutant freaks?" The guy shrieked. "What, are you going to give us tails or wings or webbed feet or something?"

"I've already done all the calculations and the mutation will enhance your biological abilities but will not affect your appearance or higher brain functions in any way…"

"No way man, no fucking way!" The cadet screamed.

"Cadet, control yourself!" General Burke snapped.

"Listen man, being a Ranger involves a few changes." Jason told him. "Even those of us that didn't get some kind of super powers were altered a little and…"

"No way, not a chance! NO!" The cadet put down flatly. "I've done everything you asked. I ran for miles, climbed walls, blasted targets, did tests, but turning into some kind of…freak? No way! That's it for me! Screw that!"

"Is that your final decision?" General Burke asked him. The cadet just nodded.

"I'm not letting this freakshow turn me into some kind of monster!" He yelled. General Burke just sighed.

"Well, I can't stop you, that's your right to decide." General Burke replied. "Anyone else?"

There was no answer. General Burke looked to Commander Shaw.

"Would you mind escorting the cadet to his quarters to retrieve his belongings?" He asked.

"Not at all." Commander Shaw replied. With that, she guided the young cadet from the room. General Burke looked to the rest of them.

"Now that's dealt with, Nate, if you wouldn't mind carrying on with the tour." He said.

"Of course." Nate said, seeming to be unfazed by what had just happened. "Just this way, we have the simulators. If you'll follow me, I'll let you begin your exercises with them. Your final assessment will be based on piloting a Zord."

As they were about to head for the simulators, Roxy bumped into Ravi, brushing past him. He was about to apologise, when he realised there was something in his hand. She saw a note, which he opened out. It had a very rough sketch of a face on it, with a very simple note.

"I think I'd look cute with whiskers, don't you?" It asked. Ravi looked to Roxy, who just smiled and winked. He couldn't help smiling in response.

In another part of the base, Zoey had gotten to the medic's office and was waiting to be seen. She'd already run her arm under cold water as she was sure she'd be asked to do, and was just waiting for someone to come and see her, more to make sure it wasn't more serious than she first thought and to log the accident than anything else.

She couldn't believe she'd done anything so bone-headed. She'd worked in the laundry for months, she'd used the press more times than she could count, how had she managed to make such a simple mistake and cause this? She was lucky she hadn't taken it full in the face, and while she was sure she was going to be sore as hell for a while, she didn't want to make a fuss since she knew it was completely her own fault.

She hadn't been paying attention, she was daydreaming about the Ranger program. About Blaze and Roxy and Ravi and Nate…she had managed to get so caught up in it all that she had managed to screw up one of the simplest jobs in the entire laundry.

"Alright Ms Reeves, sorry for keeping you waiting." The medic said as he arrived. He took one look at her arm. "That looks angry, are you feeling alright?"

"Apart from feeling like the dumbest person in the whole base, yeah, I'm fine." She grumbled. He just laughed.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly natural to feel like that when we have an accident. Believe me, I've seen some doozies in this job." He told her.

"Yeah, I think I have all of them beat." She told him.

"Don't think that for a second." He assured her. "If it wasn't for doctor/patient privilege I could tell you stories that would make you doubt humanity. Now, let's have a look at that arm."

As he started inspecting it, Zoey just looked away. She knew he was trying to help, but right now, for some reason, the only thought through her mind was hoping that Nate wouldn't hear about this.


	18. Behind Closed Doors

Morning came around and Zoey was in the kitchen she shared with Roxy looking for a snack to keep her going until her first break in the laundry. Roxy was sitting by the table with some coffee, reading the morning news on her tablet.

"Damn it Roxy, you did it again." Zoey grumbled.

"What?" Roxy asked.

"The pop tarts, you opened every packet and ate everything but the blueberry." Zoey moaned. "Look, there's four boxes here and all of them only have blueberry."

"So?" Roxy asked.

"How hard is it to finish one packet before you open another?" Zoey asked, grabbing a couple and shoving them in the toaster.

"Zoey, you like blueberry, what's the big problem?" Roxy asked.

"The problem is once you open the packet, they start to go stale, so you're only meant to open one packet at a time." Zoey responded, trying to open the cabinet to get some sugar, but forgetting for a moment her hand injury. She recoiled as she felt the sharp pain from her scald. "Damn it!"

"You OK?" Roxy asked, before noticing her hand. "Wow, what happened to you?"

"Stupid accident in the laundry." Zoey sighed. "Sorry, I guess I'm in a bit of a mood."

"No, it's alright, I…I can't believe I didn't notice it last night." Roxy replied apologetically.

"It looks worse than it is." Zoey assured her. Even though the pop tarts thing did irritate her, particularly when occasionally it meant she had to throw out stale pop tarts because the packet had been open too long, it wasn't as though it was a life-threatening thing. It was right up there with some of the other irritating things that went along with Roxy's laissez faire attitude to 'organisation'. She wasn't even feeling too badly about the injury. The sad fact is living most of her life without medical insurance meant she was more than a little used to just grinning and bearing it when she was hurt or sick. She was still more upset by the stupid mistake that had led to it in the first place.

"Well that's good, because it looks like you cooked yourself like a lobster." Roxy said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"OK, first of all, nice bedside manner." Zoey responded a little bitterly as her pop tarts finished heating. "Second of all…sorry. I'm not really mad at you, I just can't believe I made such a stupid mistake."

"What happened anyway?" Roxy asked her.

"I wasn't paying attention and I didn't close the press before I activated the steam." Zoey told her.

"Right…and that's bad I take it." Roxy said. Zoey put the pop tarts onto a plate, before sitting down with her and pouring herself some coffee.

"No, we usually encourage people to blast themselves in the face with scalding hot steam." Zoey replied before she could stop herself. "Sorry, sorry I know, it's myself I'm mad at so I shouldn't take it out on you. I know you've got your own stuff going on. How is all that anyway?"

"It's…still hard." Roxy admitted. "The new weapons' systems are pretty cool though."

"New weapon's systems?" Zoey asked her.

"What, do you think we're going to fight bad guys with gleaming smiles and puntastic one-liners?" Roxy chuckled. Zoey just stared at her. "What, you can do sarcasm because you part-boil yourself and I have to take it but I don't even get one?"

"Fair enough, I guess I earned at least one." Zoey admitted. "So…weapons systems…anything cool?"

"I'm sure you'll see them on the news soon enough." Roxy replied. Technically the details of the weapons and equipment the Rangers would use were classified and talking about them was a very serious matter, but Roxy figured that it was only really important they kept details like how they worked under wraps. Pretty soon the Power Rangers were going to be running around in brightly coloured suits and driving around in brightly coloured, very large vehicles so it wasn't as though people weren't going to notice. She still took the precaution of leaning in closely and whispering. "They're letting us use the simulator to train us for the Zords."

"Zords?" Zoey asked. "Oh man, you are so lucky. You have no idea how jealous I am."

"They are pretty cool." Roxy admitted. "There's one in particular that I really quite like. I mean…if I get chosen and…"

"Will you stop that? They'd be mad not to choose you!" Zoey reassured her. She did regret it slightly when she saw a slightly pained look on Roxy's face though. "You do…want to be chosen, right?"

"I guess." Roxy replied sadly. "You know, it's like…I know what the rules say. I guess, there's still part of me that thinks, you know, screw this. Maybe if I didn't get chosen or if I just said screw it and walked then Ravi and me could…"

"You'd do that for Ravi?" Zoey asked. "I knew you guys liked each other, but…it's that serious?"

"I considered it." Roxy admitted. "But then Ravi reminded me that if I did that, if I quit and someone else was chosen and something awful happened."

She took a deep breath.

"If someone else was chosen, and something terrible happened, if someone got hurt or worse, I'd never be able to live with myself." Roxy told her. "If someone's watching Ravi's back, who better than someone that loves him more than anything?"

Zoey got up from her seat and made her way around, hugging her. She could see that it was tearing her up inside, but she could understand what was going through her mind.

"If someone's better than me, if someone would do the job better then I could live with that, but…I just have to do the best I can you know?" Roxy asked her. "Just to be sure."

"So, tell me about this weapons system." Zoey told her. "You know, just what I'll see in the news."

"Well, it flies so that's cool." Roxy told her.

Elsewhere in the city, Mayor Daniels was in his office at city hall, fielding some calls from some constituents. He always liked to make at least some time available so that citizens could speak to him directly.

"You don't need to worry." He said as he smiled, listening to the caller on the other end. A delivery was just coming in, someone with a coffee and a pastry box. He was such a workaholic he rarely left the office at lunchtime unless it was for a business lunch, and he was a big supporter of local small businesses, regularly getting deliveries from delis, bakeries and cafes all over the neighbourhood. He gestured the delivery person in. "I can tell you with a hundred percent certainty that the Doves will not be going anywhere. I just signed the extension to their franchise; the ink is barely dry. You will still be able to see some of the best basketball in the country right here in Coral Harbour for at least another four years. Yes, I'm glad too. Thank you for your call."

He hung up the phone and clapped his hands as he looked to the box. He handed some cash over his shoulder as he opened it.

"This is my favourite delivery of the week. Ooh, I just love this pecan pie! The absolute best I've ever tasted!" He said. "You should tell your boss that."

"I would if I worked for him." An all-too-familiar voice said, as the cash was thrown back onto the table. Mayor Daniels just rolled his eyes as he turned around to see the delivery person pulling off her cap, letting her hair spill down. "Muriel Reeves, Channel…"

"I know who you are Ms Reeves." Mayor Daniels groaned. To say that they had met many times would be putting it extremely mildly. Muriel Reeves was a dogged, determined and irritatingly persistent journalist, but she was most known for being stuck in a cycle and rut of celebrity tittle-tattle, loopy conspiracy stories and soft news events. She had strong ambitions of breaking out of that and being taken seriously as a hard-hitting reporter, but she always just fell short of getting that Frost/Nixon moment she clearly dreamed of. It sometimes led to her taking some pretty drastic steps, and it wasn't the first time he'd had her escorted out of events or places she wasn't meant to be by security or put in calls to her station about her. "You're leaving right now."

"Mayor Daniels, I just wanted to talk to you about Morph-X…"

"I have spoken many times at great length about Morph-X and the boon it will be to this city." He responded as he went to his phone to alert security. "I just hope for your sake you didn't hurt the real delivery guy."

"I paid him fifty bucks for her vest and told her to take a break." Muriel told him. "I just want to ask you…"

"Hello, security?" Mayor Daniels asked. Muriel put her finger on the hang-up button. Mayor Daniels just stared at her.

"Now that's crossing a line." He told her.

"Look, I just want to ask you about Morph-X and all the promises it makes." She told him.

"I've seen the pitch; I've even seen a practical demonstration." He assured her. "I would not allow the development of a technology in this city that put my constituents at risk."

"Do you know where this power comes from?" She asked him. "Where they get it? What even is Morph-X? Have you seen anyone drill it or distil it?"

"If there are any questions, I will answer them to a real reporter." He told her. "One who is not dangerously close to getting arrested now leave my office while it's only security I'm calling and not the police!"

"I have a testimony here from an anonymous source, a whistle-blower if you will." Muriel told him, putting a report down on his desk.

"Yes, and I'm sure there are a million just like it all over the internet, now are you going to leave before…?"

"My source claims that Morph-X comes directly from the Morphing Grid." Muriel interrupted him. Mayor Daniels just suddenly froze. He was used to reporters, he was used to inflammatory statements and questions all designed to provoke a reaction for that 'gotcha' moment that would cement their career at the cost of his own, but even he couldn't stop his body language betraying how he felt about what he just heard. "You hadn't heard that?"

"The Morphing Grid?" He asked her. He saw her reaching for her phone, no doubt to start recording, and immediately his media-training kicked in. Rule number one, never answer any question unless you knew and had proof for the answer…or at least that the proof was so difficult to find that you couldn't be confronted on it. "I think Ms. Reeves you've been dealing in conspiracy theories too long…"

"So, you're saying that it's not possible that Morph-X is drawn from…"

"Ms Reeves, there has been no Ranger teams in this world for two decades! As far as anyone knows the Morphing Grid has never been a factor in this world since then." He snapped.

"Mayor Daniels…"

Just then, the security team arrived. They had responded because although she hung up on them, he had called. Needless to say, getting a call that was cut off directly from his office was taken as a bad sign. They saw her and put their guns away.

"Seriously, again?" One of them asked.

"Mayor Daniels…"

"Please escort her out." Mayor Daniels told them.

"Mayor Daniels, please I just want…"

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Mayor Daniels yelled. The security team were about to grab her, but she already knew when the situation was hopeless. She didn't want to give them any excuses to get her arrested. She dutifully collected the hat to return to the real delivery girl and sighed.

"Enjoy the pie." She told him as she walked out the room, followed closely by the security team. Mayor Daniels was just pacing to work off his frustration.

He found his eyes drawn to a picture frame on his desk. He couldn't take his eyes off it. Muriel was annoying, she was pushy and she was so desperate for her big break that he wasn't sure how far she would go to get that big scoop that would put her on the mountaintop. But unfortunately, the one thing she had done, as much as he'd never admit it to her, was she had pushed a few buttons that now caused him pause to think. Grid Battleforce was still very cagey about the details of what they were doing. They never did tell him where Morph-X came from or how they got it.

He picked up the picture frame and stared at it. He had no idea if this was just another of her crazy, straw-clutching conspiracies, but…was it worth taking the chance?

Back at the base, the assessment panel were watching the cadets on the simulators. They were giving them a week to practice before they put them through their final testing.

They now only had five cadets for three slots. It made the decision easier, but also more difficult at the same time. There were still going to be two people going home empty-handed, having been within touching distance of perhaps one of the greatest honours and responsibilities there could be, and so the assessment now as much as finding who was the best individually was trying to find a team, people that could work together and create a unit that was stronger than the sum of its parts.

Blaze stepped off one of the simulators, allowing one of the others to take up the position. He could see the assessment panel watching them all carefully, checking on them as they went through a series of scenarios designed to test them in every aspect of how the Zords would work. He was confident in his performance so far, but he knew that there was still competition to go ahead. Two people going home meant two chances he would have to explain to his father why he, why any Winchester, had failed in anything for over four generations.

"Nice moves on that last run." Jason said to him. "That last move? Where did you pull that from?"

"I don't know. I guess sometimes instinct just kicks in." Blaze said, trying to downplay his performance. He always wanted to sound casual, like he was never really trying even when he was about to give the last ounce of himself to a task. It was kind of a defence mechanism that he, and many others in his family had built up. If people didn't think that they were trying, then it meant that on the very few instances they did fail or fumble, no one really saw it as terribly much of a surprise since they didn't seem to care or try in the first place. Of course, when they did succeed, it only looked all the more impressive and frustrated their opponents all the more and made them look all-powerful and untouchable. After all, who really needed to know that to become the World Karate Champion he'd trained until he passed out more times than he could count as long as they believed that he wasn't even trying.

"Instincts good, it got me through a good few scrapes back in the day." Jason agreed with a nod.

Blaze watched some of the others on their runs. They were all looking pretty impressive. Too impressive for his liking. He wanted a strong team in the end, but ultimately that meant he needed to be on it in the first place. There was just too much potential in this group, and someone had to go. Once five became three…he could relax a little.

"So, what do you think of the prospects?" Blaze asked. Jason just looked to him.

"Dude, you don't really expect me to answer that do you?" Jason asked him with a little laugh.

"We're not meant to discuss the assessment with the candidates." Carter reminded him.

"Well, I wasn't asking for scores or anything. Just…you know…general impression." Blaze responded, realising he was dangerously close to exposing the intent behind his questioning. "I mean, I look around and all I see is people we'd be lucky to have as Rangers."

"I agree." Jason responded. "Frankly, it could be any of you."

That was just what Blaze didn't want to hear. He wanted to see if there was anyone that was causing any doubts. He didn't like gambles, the only bets he liked were ones where he was the only option.

"I'm just…going to get some coffee while I wait on my turn on the Copter." Blaze told them. "Do any of you want…?"

"We'll be fine Blaze." Commander Shaw told him. Blaze just left the control room, heading to get some coffee while he considered what he was going to do. When he got into the hall though, he found one of the other cadets, and from the looks of him he wasn't looking for coffee. He was looking around, but it looked a lot more like he was looking around to make sure no one was watching him. Blaze went to the nearest vending machine and started making a coffee selection. Eventually the other cadet seemed to decide no one was watching them and moved on. Blaze followed her at a safe distance. She got to an almost deserted part of the floor, and after looking around once more to see if she was being followed, she pulled out her cell phone holding it next to a lock. Blaze watched as it sprang open and she slipped inside.

He followed her as she closed the door behind her. He tried to open it, but it was locked. That was when he saw the sign on the door.

"The mainframe room." Blaze said to himself with a little smile. "Now, that is interesting."

With that, he headed back to the main lab.

"Commander Shaw, General Burke." Blaze called out. "There's something I think you need to see."


	19. And Then There Were Three

Roxy was in her dorm room after being cleared by security. No one really knew what was going on yet, but the building had been shut down. Everyone was barred from leaving and from accessing computers until they had all been interviewed by security. All anyone knew was that there had been a security breach within the building.

Although cleared, Roxy had been instructed to go back to her dorm room, confined to quarters. She imagined everyone else was in the same boat. It was pretty clear from the questions she'd been asked that someone within Grid Battleforce had been leaking information. Although the vast majority of the staff didn't really deal with any kind of sensitive materials or information, everyone needed to be vetted to ensure that no one else had any information regarding the leak.

She was going through the cupboard, looking for some coffee when the door opened and Zoey entered, flanked by a couple of security staff. The door was closed behind her with the kind of finality that seemed more like a prison cell than a dorm room. Roxy just looked to her.

"You alright?" Roxy asked.

"Yeah, the guy with the latex gloves was surprisingly gentle." She replied in a mixture of sarcasm and genuine annoyance.

"I was just looking out the coffee." Roxy told her. "It would have been chocolate but we seem to be out."

"I wonder whose fault that is." Zoey responded, flopping down into a chair. "Man this day sucks. I have a pile the size of the Himalayas in the laundry and it's only getting bigger because they decided they need to question me all freaking day. That's four hours I'll never get back!"

"Four hours?" Roxy asked. This surprised even her. She understood that they needed to question people, but that did seem excessive. Zoey worked in the laundry, which meant she had pretty minimal security clearance these days. While it wasn't outside the realms of possibility for someone with a lower security clearance to break into restricted areas, the lower someone's security clearance, the more likely it was they'd be noticed somewhere they weren't meant to be. "I was only in there for half an hour, why did they need to talk to you for four hours?"

"Mostly they were asking questions about my mom." Zoey told her. "When was the last time I spoke to her, when did I see her last, what did we talk about…?"

"Your mom?" Roxy asked.

"Yeah, my mom!" Zoey told her. "My mom's Muriel Reeves."

"Muriel Reeves…the reporter?" Roxy asked. Zoey just nodded. "They seriously asked you about that?"

"Yeah, over and over. At one point I thought General Burke was about five minutes from having me water boarded." She told her bitterly.

"Well, they can't think you did anything or they wouldn't have released you back to the dorm." Roxy pointed out.

"No, but I can be pretty sure they'll be keeping me under surveillance from now on." Zoey muttered. "I can't believe this…I love my mom, but I know how serious they were about this. I'd never have told her anything about what we're doing here."

"You really think they suspect you of something?" Roxy asked her.

"Let's just say it's not exactly the first time people have been a little reluctant to talk to me once they know who my mom is." Zoey replied angrily. "Now I'm wondering if this had anything to do with why I was cut. I mean, I know I was late and I know I messed up a few things but the General was giving me stink-eye pretty much from the moment I got here."

"Look, whoever they've found and whatever they were doing, I'm sure they're just making sure that's as far as it went." Roxy assured her. "Besides, if they were really that worried, do you think they would have let you get as far as you did?"

"I know." She grumbled. "I guess it was just nice for a moment to think they were looking for an excuse to cut me. Rather than, you know…just admit that I blew it."

"Look, they need to follow up lines of inquiry, the General will have bosses to answer to as well." Roxy reminded her. "He'd probably be seen as negligent if he didn't at least ask."

"I guess." Zoey answered. "Still, it's kind of hard not to take it personally."

Roxy just came over to her, hugging her warmly.

"So, do you want the latte or the latte?" She asked. Zoey just looked at her.

"Do you ever re-stock the cupboard?" Zoey asked.

"Sure." She answered with a shrug. "When it's empty."

"You really are not the domestic type are you?" She chuckled.

"It's part of my charm." Roxy responded, heading back to the coffee machine.

The following morning, the cadets were summoned from their quarters. The rest of the base were allowed to go back to their duties, but there was noticeably a much stronger security presence than there had been before. The whole thing felt a little overbearing. Even Ben and Betty had been drafted to the security side of things. It wasn't as though they didn't help out, but the fact they'd been issued black security uniforms indicated it wasn't likely to be just a temporary thing. The whole thing felt a little more intimidating than it had before.

As they all stood to attention, they couldn't help noticing that there were now only four of them. Blaze, Roxy, Ravi and Forrest. Four recruits when the day before there had been five. Blaze had a little bit of a self-satisfied smirk on his face until General Burke led the review panel into the room to address them. He did not look to be in a good mood.

"Alright, before we go any further, this is rumour control, here are the facts." General Burke snapped as he looked among them. "You will no doubt have noticed that there is now one less of you than there was yesterday. I can indeed confirm that the security breach you were all questioned about was down to Cadet Garnett. Cadet Garnett was seen entering a secure server room without authorisation and upon questioning admitted to downloading data from our servers."

Ravi tensed up, and looked completely furious about hearing this. He'd grown up in a military family, and took loyalty very seriously. He didn't just see it as someone leaking information about Grid Battleforce, he saw it as a personal betrayal as well. Everyone had been briefed on the importance of their work, and everyone had signed up to the responsibility of keeping everyone else in the organisation safe.

Roxy wasn't as upset as him hearing this. She had no earthly idea why another cadet had tried to steal data or what they planned to do with it. The only thing she could think about was how upset Ravi looked, and wishing she could say or do something to ease him, but knowing that it wasn't something she could do.

Blaze already knew the story. He was the one that had reported it. He couldn't believe his luck seeing one of the other cadets accessing the server room. He was trying to think of ways to limit the field and someone had gift-wrapped it for him.

"Now, we cannot discuss the nature of the data Cadet Garnett accessed or what he was doing with it as it is an ongoing investigation. I will not tolerate anyone, and I do mean anyone putting this project or anyone working on it at risk. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." They all replied. General Burke took a step back, at which Nate stepped up.

"Alright, you've been working for the last couple of days on individual Zord simulations, from now we'll be hooking up the simulators to allow multi-zord scenarios." Nate told them. "That will include not only scenarios requiring the use of multiple individual zords, but also Megazord formation."

There was a little bit of excitement among the last four cadets. All of them had heard stories from their parents about Rangers from before their time. The Megazords were a thing of legend. Mechanical titans that stood as the pinnacle of a Ranger's arsenal. They were very much a weapon of last resort, but that didn't mean that they weren't all feeling a certain level of childish fantasy about the fact they may very well one day be called upon to pilot one of those fantastical machines.

He stood before Blaze and smirked.

"Forrest, Ravi, Roxy, why don't the three of you start the first simulation?" Nate asked. Blaze went to the corner to take a seat and wait his turn while they got into the simulators while Nate explained the first scenario to them. He had managed to get this far, and while Nate wasn't part of the selection committee, he wasn't going to leave it up to that little dweeb to put obstacles in his way. He'd come this far, he wasn't going to fall at the final hurdle. One of them had to go.

Elsewhere in the city, Ben and Betty had been sent out to track down a lead. Garnett had been interrogated at length about the security breach. They'd already scanned the data he'd pulled from the servers, and while it didn't look like anything that wouldn't be available to the public anyway in a matter of a few weeks, once the official press releases came out, the military took confidentiality very seriously. What he had done was not just industrial espionage, but actual espionage. It was a very serious crime which carried with it the potential for very serious sentences upon conviction.

They had questioned him at length about how long he had been taking data, how much, and more importantly who he was communicating it to. They had hoped that the very real threat of a lifetime in a military prison would frighten him enough to loosen his tongue but he had told them over and over that he was only ever given an e-mail address to send the data to. He was only too willing to co-operate, but he seemed to know very little about who he was actually sending the information to.

Nate had managed to retrieve enough of the communications to verify that nothing he was sending out was of an especially harmful nature. He wasn't sending out anything about weapons technology or identities of Ranger candidates or anything else for that matter that the public wouldn't know soon enough anyway, but that just made the whole thing more mysterious. It wasn't like any foreign power or rival company would have any real value for what he had found. It was the only reason that once they were finished questioning him about why he did it he would most likely only face a dishonourable discharge rather than serious prison time. But it did lead to the question who he was sending it to and why they wanted it.

Ben and Betty had been sent out in one of the transports with a tracking device, tracing the signal that Nate had found for them. The only thing they could tell was that it was a computer that was somewhere within a city block, but whoever it was had gone to great lengths to ensure they had covered their tracks.

"You got anything yet?" Ben asked as he drove slowly around the streets.

"Shh…I'm trying to concentrate." Betty reprimanded him as she concentrated on the scanner. "Go slower, the signal is getting stronger around here."

"Go slower?" He asked. "We're barely moving as it is, if I go much slower I'll stall!"

"We don't want to go right past it do we?" Betty asked him. "Alright, the blip is coming from around here. It looks like it's this side of the street."

"Betty…"

"Alright, I'm getting a really strong signal here." Betty told him. "Pull up right here."

"But Betty…"

"Ben, pull up right here!" She told him, gesturing to the pavement wildly. Ben just pulled up the van at which she bailed out quickly. She started to scan around with the device.

"Betty, we really need to…"

"Ben, it's here! It's this building right here!" She said as she checked her readings. "Go and get the universal key!"

"But Betty…"

"We don't want to give this dirtbag a chance to get away!" She yelled back at him. "Bring it!"

"But Betty…" He tried to protest, but as usual his sister was already overly eager to get stuck in. Betty was always the bolder of the siblings, and the more confrontational to boot. Either in spite of, or perhaps because of her small size, she seemed to have a habit of rushing headlong in when her brother was as happy, and often infinitely happier to hang back or even withdraw if a situation looked risky. They had no idea who awaited them in the apartment block, and Ben was hoping they could get out of sight and call in some other units for backup rather than head into a situation that could potentially be dangerous.

Betty barged through the door as an unfortunate resident was trying to leave, rushing out something about official business. Ben could only apologise as he followed her. Betty looked to the stairs.

"We're going to have to go up." She told him.

"There's an elevator right there." Ben protested.

"We don't know what floor it's on. We need to check each one." Betty reminded him. Ben groaned as they started making their way up, Betty with her nose inches from the device the whole way. They finally managed to get to the top floor, with Ben breathlessly coming up behind her.

"Along here." She told him, starting to creep down the hallway. She was almost at the end of the hallway when Ben tapped her on the shoulder.

"Betty?" He asked. He pointed up at the ceiling. "There's a web cam up there."

"It's too late, the signal's coming from right up…" She said, before suddenly the signal died. She just snorted. "So, think turning off the computer is going to help? Too late buster, we're right here!"

She ran full-pelt at the door, throwing out a stiff kick…only to end up flying backwards and ending up staring straight at the ceiling completely winded. The door didn't budge an inch.

"Betty, are you alright?" Ben asked. She just let out a long, low moan, at which Ben started to become enraged. Now his sister was hurt, and as far as he was concerned, it was the data thief's fault. He grabbed the "universal key", a rather affectionate nickname law enforcement gave to a steel battering ram, and bracing it in both hands, swung it, ramming it into the door. It took a couple of swings, but eventually he managed to force the door open. By the time he dumped the battering ram on the floor and pulled out his blaster, Betty was back on her feet, also drawing her weapon.

"OK, freeze scum…" He started to yell, before looking around the room. "…bag."

They had the right place, they could see that there had been a computer set up there, but it seemed like moments before they arrived, likely tipped off by the web cam, the perpetrator had dumped the whole thing into a barrel of chemicals. The smell coming from it made it seem like some kind of corrosive. The window was open, leading to the fire escape.

They rushed over, seeing a car speeding away. It was much too far for them to see the licence plate.

"Come on Ben, let's go!" Betty yelled as they headed back out. They got to the elevator just as someone was getting off, shoving them out the way and heading back down to the ground level. However, as they got outside, Betty was horrified to see that the van was gone.

"What the…someone stole our van!" Betty yelled.

"I…don't think it's stolen." Ben replied, pointing down the street. Betty just looked to see a tow truck driving away.

"But…"

"Betty, that's what I was trying to tell you!" Ben sighed, pointing to the curb. "It was a red zone."

"Oh." Betty sighed. "Dad is not going to like this."

Meanwhile, in her car, leaving the scene, Muriel Reeves checked her rear view mirror, satisfying herself she wasn't being followed.

"That was way too close." She commented.

Back at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Zoey was heading for the mess hall for lunch, when she found her way barred by someone. She was tired, she was fed up, but most of all, she was hungry and she really wasn't in a great mood.

"Excuse me." She said, trying to step around, but the person moved to continue to bar her path. She just looked up at her. "Can I help you with something?"

"You can own up for a start." Forrest sneered at her. Zoey recognised Forrest from her time as a cadet herself. She was quite a bit bigger than Zoey, with burning red hair, and piercing green eyes.

"I'm sorry?" Zoey asked.

"You should be sorry!" She snapped. "Garnett's in a cell right now and you have the gall to show your face around here?"

"I have no idea what you mean…"

"So, did your mom pay you for that leak? Or did you just do it as a family favour?" Forrest asked her. Now Zoey knew what this was about. For some reason Forrest seemed to think she was involved in the leak. She knew that Forrest and Garnett had been friends. It angered her that someone was accusing her about this.

"I was questioned just like everyone else on this base." Zoey responded, getting into her face. She didn't like to be accused of things she didn't do. She definitely didn't like it when people questioned her loyalty or her honesty, both of which she valued greatly. Most of all, she didn't appreciate people getting into her face. "If I was a suspect, don't you think the General would have me in a cell by now?"

"You think you're clever?" Forrest asked, shoving her. "Because of you Garnett could be going to prison…"

"If Forrest was dumb enough not to know what the word 'classified' means then that's on him!" Zoey yelled in response. "I signed the same contract as you, and I don't appreciate getting accused without proof. If you have any, take it to the General!"

Zoey was just starting to make her way past her to the mess hall when Forrest threw something, which hit her on the back of the head.

"Your mom's a hack!" She taunted her. "How long has she been raking through garbage cans and hacking phones? If you think this will get her out of the gutter press then you really are delusional…"

Zoey wasn't thinking, she just saw red. As much as she hated the accusations, she hated when people insulted her mom more. She knew her mom's reputation in the press wasn't the best, but it wasn't her fault she was only ever given weak assignments that led to lacklustre stories that never broke out of the soft news segments. Zoey looked to her and wanted nothing more than to tear straight through her, but she knew that wouldn't do any good. If anything, it would only get her in trouble. Zoey just took a deep breath, before waving her off and turning away.

"Hey, don't you turn your back on me traitor!" Forrest yelled at her. When Zoey continued to ignore her, Forrest decided to take matters further, smacking her hard across the back of the head. Zoey stumbled forward, face-planting to the floor in the middle of the mess hall.

She turned over just as Forrest mounted her, striking her hard across the face. She was knocked senseless, but it wasn't long before Forrest was hauled off by a rather less than happy looking Roxy. Others were swarming around, cheering to egg them on, but once Roxy had a hold of Forrest, it all ended rather quickly. She just forced her down onto a table and held her until she was left under no doubt she couldn't escape.

"Calm yourselves, everyone please!" General Burke roared as he came into view. "Let her up Roxy. NOW!"

Roxy reluctantly let go of the hold, letting Forrest up, but once she had let her go, she made her way to Zoey's side, helping her up.

"Now what in the blazes happened here?" He asked.

"Nothing sir." Zoey replied. "Just…a misunderstanding that's all."

"Roxy?" General Burke asked. Roxy could have gone off right there. She was more than happy to tear strips off Forrest for attacking her friend, but even looking at Zoey, whose nose was bleeding badly, she could only see her shaking her head. She didn't believe in running to the teachers to solve her problems. As much as Roxy wanted to say something, she respected Zoey's wishes.

"I don't know sir." Roxy told him. "I just saw the end of the fight. I separated them."

"Well no one is leaving here until I know…"

"Her mom is Muriel Reeves!" Forrest yelled, pointing at Zoey. "Isn't it obvious? She's the leak! She's probably told her mom all about everything! She probably framed Garnett…"

"We have irrefutable evidence that Garnett was the leak!" General Burke interrupted her.

"You…you do?" Forrest asked.

"We caught him in the act!" General Burke responded. He just contemplated her for a moment, before looking to the rest of the panel. They all just seemed to look wordlessly among each other for a moment before he came to a decision. "Forrest, go to your dorm and pack your bags."

"WHAT?" She screamed.

"Ms. Reeves, do you want to press charges?" He asked. Zoey just held her nose.

"No thanks sir." She responded.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "You'd be well within your rights…"

"I'm fine." Zoey assured him. "I just want to get cleaned up and get some food then get back to work."

He turned towards her and looked to her, seeing her standing bloodied, bruised, but standing unaided before him. He glanced towards Commander Shaw. Now, he finally saw what she had seen in her. It was too late for Zoey in the Ranger program, but he could see why she saw her as a prospect. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"As long as you're sure." He told her. "Roxy, take her to the infirmary, make sure that nose isn't broken."

As Forrest was led away to her dorm to pack, Blaze just watched the whole thing from his table. He couldn't believe his luck.

"Two birds, one stone." He said with a smug little smile. "Blaze Winchester, Power Ranger…I like the sound of that."


	20. The Final Decision

Late in the day, Ravi, Roxy and Blaze were assembled in the very depths of the base. It didn't take a math whizz to tell them why they were there. It was widely known from the beginning that they were looking for three Rangers, now here three of them were assembled. Out of around five hundred applicants, they now stood as the final three, and would become the new Rangers.

They all stood at ease, waiting for the selection panel to come and confirm what they already knew. The brawl in the mess hall had removed the last of the potential candidates, meaning that now they were the ones chosen to be the first new generation of Rangers in almost two decades. Blaze could barely keep his self-satisfied smirk under control as he waited. He had finally managed to secure his place on the team. His father had always taught him to strive for the win no matter what he did, regardless of what it took to get there.

Ravi was a lot more restrained. He wasn't a robot, though many would argue that point was debatable, but he had always been taught to treat personal glory as secondary to duty, and saw celebration as somewhat unseemly. There was also what it meant he had to give up. He couldn't look to the side, he daren't cast his gaze Roxy's direction. It was what they had always dreaded, both of them being on the team meant that there was no way around regulation 34C. They were both Rangers, which meant they were not permitted to be in a romantic relationship. He struggled with it himself, he had considered resigning in passing, but he always felt it would be selfish of him to give up the position just to make himself happy. It would be even more selfish to ask Roxy to do the same. As much as he had resigned himself to the fact they were now doomed to put their own happiness aside for their role as Rangers, and he kept telling himself that having Roxy on the team meant he had someone he knew he could depend on to watch his back in battle, he still didn't dare to look at her.

Roxy felt more than a little conflicted as she waited on the selection panel. She cast a glance over towards Ravi, but he wasn't even looking her way. She had taken Zoey to the infirmary but had been ordered to leave her in their care and report to the Command Centre. She was torn between wanting to go and check on her friend, the fact that the man she loved was now standing only a few feet away and yet because of some bureaucratic nonsense may as well be in Antarctica and yes, a measure of pride too. She'd enlisted as a test, to push herself to her limit and beyond and to take on the ultimate assignment, to be responsible for the entire city. She was justifiably proud of herself to have made it onto the final team, but that didn't mean it didn't break her heart to know that she had to sacrifice her relationship with Ravi. She looked over to him, and it all came back to her. She could only wonder, what could they really do if they resumed their relationship once they became Rangers? Would they really fire them after going to all the time and expense in training them, mutating them and equipping them with technology, much of which she imagined would be tailored to them now that they knew who the Rangers were?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the doors opened and the selection panel entered. They stood before them, calling them to attention. The three Rangers all saluted.

"You may stand at ease." Commander Shaw told them. As they did so, she felt a little pride in seeing her son as one of the Rangers, but couldn't help feeling a deep swell of regret and shame. As much as Roxy tried to hide it, she did notice her gaze towards her son, and she could see in Ravi's face that he was trying to block something out. She could see the pain she had caused completely unnecessarily. She had hoped that for once Ravi would choose his own life, his own happiness over others, but she had underestimated his resolve. She had liked Roxy even before now, and thought she was a wonderful girl for Ravi. She made her son happy in a way she had never seen. Even if that was all she knew about her she'd have been delighted if Ravi had introduced Roxy to her. That Roxy also chose her responsibility over their happiness impressed Shaw, but also pained her. She had caused this pain, and now all she could do was hope that they would never find out that regulation 34C had been her idea. She couldn't imagine Ravi would ever speak to her again. How could she expect him to forgive her when she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to forgive herself? General Burke nudged her and gave her a look to ask if she was alright. When she gave him the nod to continue, he just gestured to Carter.

"Well, it's a LITTLE sooner than we would have predicted, but here we are." Carter said, looking over the three new Rangers. "The three of you should be very proud of yourselves. You are about to join one of the most exclusive and unique fraternities on the planet. After all the tests, all the lumps and bruises, every difficult decision and every sacrifice, you now stand as the newest Power Rangers."

"Congratulations." Jason chipped in as he took over. "There have been many before you. People from all walks of life. Some of whom never suspected the awesome responsibility that they would one day hold. Each of you has proven yourselves time and again to be the very best of the best. I for one would be proud to serve with any of you."

"But the journey isn't over." General Burke declared. "There now stands two more decisions to be made. We must decide the most appropriate designation for each of you and we must assign a leader."

"These decisions are not to be made lightly, and they will be much more involved than simply what colour you like." Angela said. "Your arsenal, your skill set and your powers will be assigned based on those that best suit your individual talents and abilities."

"But that is a decision to be made tomorrow." General Burke told them. "For today, the only thing that remains is for us to say…Congratulations Rangers, we salute you!"

The five of them all saluted.

"May the Power Protect You!" They all said together. The Rangers returned the salute, before being dismissed. As they all went their separate ways, Blaze pulled out his cell phone and dialled.

"Dad?" He asked, waiting for the response on the other end.

"Mr Winchester's office, can I ask who's calling?" A female voice on the other end asked. Blaze just rolled his eyes.

"Mercy it's me!" He snapped. He was frustrated to call his dad only to get his PA on the other line. He knew fine well his dad had caller ID. Why would she not just hand his dad the phone when she saw it was his son calling? It was something he was sadly used to, but at the same time he still got irritated by. "Just put him on the line!"

She put him on hold, something else that angered him. She was probably checking with him to see if he even wanted to speak to his son. He clenched his teeth, muttering to himself, swearing to do something terrible if she came back on the line with some excuse about what his dad was doing and why he couldn't answer.

"Blaze." His father's voice came on the other end. Blaze relaxed a little. It looked like whatever his dad was doing he'd decided it wasn't too inconvenient to spare a couple of minutes to talk to him. Blaze smiled.

"Dad, I've got it." Blaze told him, smiling brightly. "I got selected. I'm a Ranger!"

He felt his chest swelling, his heart pounding. He was proud to tell his dad about his accomplishment. His dad always wanted him to prove himself, and what could be better than becoming a real super hero? He was trying to imagine his dad on the other end of the line, ordering the most expensive bottle of champagne in his gentleman's club and preparing to toast him.

"Really…is that all?" The reply came. Blaze felt himself deflating. His face fell.

"Dad…didn't you hear what I said?" Blaze asked him.

"Well…yes, but…is that all?" He asked.

Blaze backed into the wall. Why did he think this time would be any different? He'd had this same conversation almost every time he called his dad with an accomplishment ever since he won his first karate tournament when he was ten. And when he graduated from boarding school…and when he graduated from college.

"Dad, I've become a Ranger!" Blaze reiterated.

"Yes, that was what you set out to do wasn't it?" Mr Winchester asked him.

"They haven't decided on the team leader yet." Blaze rushed out. The line was silent for a moment.

"Well, that's something I suppose." Mr Winchester replied. "So, when will you find out if you've got it?"

"Soon." Blaze replied. The line went silent for a moment.

"Remember, you're a Winchester. You come from a long line of leaders." His dad told him. "Don't let me down son."

With that, he hung up. Blaze just stared at his phone for a moment, before a wave of rage swept through him. He threw the phone hard into the wall, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. Why did he think this time would be any different?

He heard the whirr of a cleaning droid coming out of a housing on the wall to clean up the wreckage. He bent down, retrieving the SIM card to put into a new phone. As he put it in his pocket, he turned and saw Nate coming down the hall, holding a device. Nate stopped as he saw Blaze, and the mess on the floor.

"Were you listening to that?" Blaze snapped. Nate just looked confused.

"Listening to what?" Nate asked him. Blaze trudged towards him, shoving him aside as he stormed out of the building. Nate just watched him go and sighed.

"I can't believe a guy like that is going to be a Ranger." He commented, before stepping over the droid that was cleaning up the remains of the phone and heading down the hall.

Elsewhere in the city, Mayor Daniels was in his office, on the phone. This wasn't exactly unusual, he spent almost his whole life on the phone to some donor, lobbyist, focus group or concerned citizen of some description, but this time was entirely different. This time, he had none of his usual poise or calm. This time, he was the one making the call.

"Yes, yes, I understand all too well what 'classified' means. I don't need to have it explained to me, I'm not an idiot!" Mayor Daniels said in a barely-restrained growl as he spoke to the person on the other end. "These towers are being built in my city…yes, I'm aware of…I don't think you can say…This city has been MORE than accommodating to Grid Battleforce."

He continued to listen to the person on the other end. He'd had far more productive conversations with his son's cat. It wasn't that they weren't speaking, it was more that when they did, they weren't saying anything. So far, he'd been on the phone for a couple of hours and he'd been passed to three different departments, four supervisors, put on hold six times…he knew a snow job when he saw it. He was being given the run-around in his own damn city!

"Yes, well I'm afraid that's not good enough!" Mayor Daniels stated. "If you're building weapons of mass destruction in my city I think I have a right to know about it now I don't care what you have to do or who you have to put me through to I want some straight answers and I want them NOW God damn it!"

He heard something in the background, and after a moment the phone was handed over.

"Mayor Daniels?" He heard a voice say. "I'm Commander Shaw."

"Commander? Good, now we're getting somewhere." He responded.

"I understand you have some concerns about the facility?" She asked him.

"Yes, I have more than a few concerns about your facility and frankly I just want someone to give me some straight answers before I have to face my constituents and explain to them why I've turned their city into a potential ticking time bomb!"

"Mayor Daniels, I…I understand. I know we've not been very forthcoming with a lot of the details of what we're doing here." She told him. "The launch is coming soon. In fact, we're looking at bringing the launch forward. Some unforeseen circumstances have accelerated our process. Perhaps you'd feel a little more at ease if we could speak in person?"

"In person?" He asked her.

"Yes." She replied. "I can arrange for you to visit the headquarters if you'd like."

"To do what? Have a cup of tea while you tell me nothing?" He asked her.

"I'll dispatch an agent to your office within the hour with a security pass." She told him. "I'll give you the full tour of the facility personally. It's time we tell you exactly what we're doing to safeguard the future of the city."

"I…I don't know what to say." He replied, being a little bowled over by this surprising U-turn in cooperation with the facility. "I appreciate it."

"Your security pass will be with you soon." She told him. "I'm sure we can arrange a convenient time."

"I appreciate that." Mayor Daniels replied. "Thank you."

As he hung up the phone, he went to his desk, sitting down. He grabbed his coffee, and leaned back in this seat. He could hardly believe it, now after all this time, after all the ducking and evasion they were finally going to give him the answers he was looking for?

He looked to the photograph on his desk and just stared at it. In his mind, a woman's scream echoed. The cup slipped from his hand and spilled all over the floor. Just then, his receptionist came in.

"Mayor Daniels, I have some reports from the school district for you to…" She said, before seeing him staring at the picture, the cup lying on the floor. He was a million miles away. He hadn't even noticed her. "Mayor Daniels?"

"What?" He asked, suddenly realising he wasn't alone. She came over, putting the reports on his desk. She started to clean up the spill.

"Leave that, it's alright." Mayor Daniels told her. "Um…I'm expecting a delivery later…"

"I'll keep an eye out for it." She told him. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Yes…just a little mishap." He assured her. She just nodded and left the room, leaving Mayor Daniels to his thoughts. He picked up his cup, putting it back on the desk, before grabbing some napkins to soak up the coffee.

Back on the base, Zoey was sitting in the infirmary. She'd been seen by the medical officer, but she had been told to wait there. She didn't really know why. It wasn't as though she hadn't had a few lumps and bruises in her life. She was holding her nose, which had fortunately stopped bleeding by now, but she could only think of the huge pile of work she had waiting for her in the laundry and the fact that the more time she spent sitting here, the larger it would be when she finally got back.

Roxy returned, sliding into the room to take a seat next to her.

"You're still here?" She asked. "I was more worried about Forrest's knuckles to be honest with you."

"The medic won't let me leave." She complained. "I said I'm fine but they said they have some treatment they want to try."

"Alright, let's have a look." Roxy said, moving around in front. Zoey moved her hand away from her face to let her see. "Oh…oh, that is not pretty."

"Wow, your bedside manner really sucks." Zoey answered. "It's broken."

"Yeah, I think I could see that from the other side of the base." Roxy answered. Zoey picked up some tissues and threw them at her. "HEY! I'm not the one that hit you!"

"I know." Zoey muttered. "So, I guess they were telling you that you're Rangers now?"

"Pretty much." Roxy answered as she started looking around the medic's room, starting to fidget with the little models and equipment on the shelves.

"I still can't believe Blaze got to be a Ranger." Zoey said bitterly.

"He's an ass, but he's pretty good." Roxy replied with a shrug. "I guess no one said we have to be the bestest buddies with the people we're on the team with."

"No, but I'm sure it would help." Zoey replied with a little bit of a grin on her face. "So, you and Ravi will be on the team and…"

"OK, if you're going to go there, you won't get your lollipop!" Roxy said, helping herself to a lollipop and offering one to Zoey. Zoey took one for herself, figuring it was probably going to be a while before the other medic came back. "They just need to decide which Rangers we'll be."

"Alright, sorry I'm late I got a little side-tracked with…" Nate said as he came in with the device, before stopping still as he saw Roxy and Zoey in the infirmary. "Um…"

"Hey." Zoey replied, suddenly becoming a little self-conscious.

"Wow, when I heard that one of the employees on the base had been in a fight, I never thought…" He said, coming to Zoey's side. "Are you alright?"

Roxy backed away to the side of the room out the way, leaning against one of the units. She just watched on in interest.

"I…I…uh…" She started to say, suddenly finding herself at a loss as to what to say to him. She'd been avoiding him after the accident in the hopes of not looking like a complete idiot to him, but now she was in the infirmary after getting into a fight with a cadet who was possibly going to be a Ranger until she was kicked out? She didn't want to imagine what Nate thought of her. She could see him looking to her with concern and had to wonder what was going through his mind. She was trying to think of something to say that would make her seem less like an idiot. "She started it."

She rolled her eyes almost into the back of her skull the moment she said that. Great, now he didn't think she was an idiot, he thought she was a grade-school kid. She didn't notice Roxy in the corner starting to chew her nails as she watched on in glee.

"Savage. She really made a mess. I'm glad she got kicked out." Nate said, before suddenly realising she had to be worried about it. "Uh…I mean…this shouldn't be too bad…this device should help out."

He got the device ready and looked to her.

"What…what is that?" She asked him.

"It's a little thing I cooked up for injuries of soft tissue and cartilage." He told her. "I came up with it one time I lost my glasses and walked into a wall."

He just flinched saying this. Great, now she thought he was a complete klutz.

"What does it do?" She asked him.

"It'll just make a little realignment to the damaged cartilage and a low-yield radiation will help begin knitting it and ease some of the swelling in the soft tissue." He told her.

"Will it hurt?" She asked.

"No, it won't." He assured her. "Just hold still."

He turned the device on and held it to her face. Roxy watched as he analysed it.

"OK, it seems to be working."

"It…it kind of tickles." Zoey giggled.

"Yeah, it'll do that." He replied, before removing it. "There we go…that should be it."

"Really? That's it?" She asked.

"Within a few days your nose should be as cute as ever." He said, before his eyes went wide. "Uh…I mean…your nose should be just like it was!"

"Thanks." Zoey said, apparently having missed what he had said. He breathed a sigh of relief, but missed the fact that Roxy was listening and had heard it all. She was biting her knuckles, barely able to stand the adorable scene unfolding between them. "I guess I should…get back to it then."

"I guess." Nate replied. "Bye."

"Bye." She replied, before they both scurried off down the hall in opposite directions as fast as they could. Roxy just slumped against the unit, staring up at the ceiling.

"REALLY?" She yelled.

Meanwhile in the Command Centre, the selection panel had assembled to make one of the most important decisions they had left. They'd been messaged to tell them to meet. Commander Shaw was pacing impatiently as they waited. Nate finally arrived, scurrying in.

"I'm sorry I'm late Commander." He said apologetically. "I was held up and…I'm sorry."

"Well, you're here now." Commander Shaw sighed as she prepared to begin the meeting. "Alright, I've called you all together because as you know, the leak has left us uncertain as to how much longer we can keep things under wraps. Between that and a call I took from the mayor, I feel we have no alternative but to accelerate our timeline."

"We've sent a release to the press." General Burke informed them. "We'll be holding a press conference and we intend to start up the Morph-X grid tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Jason asked. "Are you sure that's not a little sudden?"

"We've not got much choice." Commander Shaw responded. "Piecemeal misinformation released in the press could only lead to panic. It's time for us to bring Morph-X to the public, along with their new defenders."

"Which means we now need to make our selections." General Burke told them.

"I'm recusing myself from this decision, I'm sure I don't need to explain why." Commander Shaw told them. "I'd like to hear your thoughts."

"Roxy is quick, agile and fast on her feet." Jason commented. "She also showed real promise with that copter."

"Her scores show she showed the most aptitude with the copter simulations." Nate agreed as he pulled up the data. "If my opinion counts for anything, I think the jackrabbit DNA will be the most compatible with her attributes."

"All in favour?" General Burke asked. Both Carter and Angela held up their hands. "Alright, the motion passes, it looks like Roxy is going to be our new Yellow Ranger."

"Now, the other two candidates, that's where things get a little tricky." Jason said as he considered the options. "Both of the guys are pretty strong candidates for either role."

"I'd agree, the scores don't make it easy." Nate agreed reluctantly, looking at the data. "I'm just not convinced Blaze is the right fit for the Red Ranger."

"Is that a decision based on data or personal feelings?" Commander Shaw asked. Nate looked a little put out by this assertion, but he couldn't really deny the point. If it was up to him, Blaze wouldn't even be a Ranger. He had very set ideas about what he thought it meant to be a Ranger and he didn't like Blaze in the slightest. It was galling enough to him that he was even going to be a Ranger without making him the Red Ranger.

"I have to say that I was concerned about Winchester from the beginning." General Burke admitted. "I was hoping he'd wash out. He did have an attitude on him and I was just hoping we'd have a reason to let him go without upsetting his father."

"Hey, many of us had an attitude when we started." Jason admitted. "I know I had my moments, and when Tommy came along…yeah, let's just say we were pretty hard to be around for a while."

"Ravi does have the better all-around scores." Angela conceded. "If we based it purely on that I'd say he was Red without a second thought."

"Ravi is most certainly a fine young man that would be a good fit in any capacity." General Burke agreed. "As leader…I know he'd put the welfare of his team first."

This had an effect on Commander Shaw. She knew that was the case. Ravi would always put himself last. That was exactly why he was in the situation he was in now. She did wonder if maybe as leader he could be afforded a little more leeway in his behaviour that might make his time as a Ranger a little more tolerable.

"The Yellow and Blue Zords are a combination though." Angela pointed out. "And Roxy and Ravi have by far the highest scores out of the three as a unit. They're completely in synch."

"Blaze was kind of full of himself, but that's at least in part down to a confidence I'm not sure Ravi has." Carter admitted. "He just…seems to be more comfortable taking orders than being the one to make the call. I don't know if putting him in the position to make those decisions is the best thing for him."

"Blaze was the one that broke up that fight in the gym." Jason reminded them. "Sometimes calling out your own team is part of the job."

"He was also the one that found that leak." Carter pointed out. They all nodded. Commander Shaw just sat back in her seat, not saying anything. She had her own views on Blaze, but she'd already recused herself from the decision. She did have a few lingering doubts about Blaze, but had to wonder if her doubts were down to bias towards her son.

"Alright, we can talk about this all day. I say we vote on it." He told them. "I'm putting my vote for Ravi as Red Ranger."

"I second that." Nate answered.

"I'm going with Blaze." Jason said, lifting his pencil into the air. "I kind of…get a little bit of myself from him. I think he could grow into something great."

"I don't think I'd be quite as egotistical about it, but I do see something in Blaze too." Carter told them. "He's always trying to prove himself. If he doesn't accomplish something, he'll damn well kill himself trying."

"You get the deciding vote." General Burke said to Angela. She looked around the room, trying to consider her options.

"I still maintain what I said about Yellow and Blue. I think we need to have the most in synch in those roles." She told them. "So, with that in mind, I'm going to vote Blaze for Red and Ravi for Blue."

"Then we have our team." General Burke announced. "Thank you for your time and your expertise. I'll arrange transportation for you back home."

"Thanks, we'd appreciate that." Angela told him. "We've been away from our families long enough."

"I'll just inform the team of our decision." Commander Shaw said as they started to get up from the table. "By this time tomorrow, we'll have our team.


	21. A Matter of Respect

Roxy was getting ready for her day ahead, though watched as Zoey stood, staring at herself in the mirror. It was uncharacteristic of Zoey to spend so much time or thought to her appearance in the early morning. Even before she worked in the laundry, where thoughts to appearance meant little considering everyone that worked there would soon be pale from exhaustion and drenched in sweat regardless, she didn't give much stock to vanity. However, this morning she had stood for almost half an hour just staring at herself.

She couldn't believe the change in her injury in the short time since its infliction. Her nose had been broken a little over a full day ago and yet to look at her face now it was difficult to know that it had been broken at all. She had expected her nose to be bent or misshapen. The sad fact was that despite popular opinion, the nose was not truly a bone, but was made of cartilage, much like the ear. Once it had been compromised, it was often warped, and rarely healed back exactly as it had before. Without some very expensive plastic surgery well beyond her means, most who suffered a broken nose had to simply live with the fact that it was going to be misshapen. The best-case scenario was a simple bump or bend, in the worst cases, the septum could be deviated to the point that breathing was affected.

However, Nate's device had worked nothing short of a miracle. It had not only straightened and re-set it, the swelling and bruising had subsided so considerably anyone looking at her would believe the injury was weeks old instead of only a day and even then, only close up. She ran her fingers over her left cheek, which was mildly swollen and discoloured, but so mildly she could hardly believe it.

"Yes, yes, you're very pretty." Roxy teased her. "Can someone else use the mirror now? I have a class at the Riptide today!"

"I…I can't believe it." Zoey stated. "Can you believe this?"

"My answer's the same as it was the other half dozen times you asked, yes it's amazing." Roxy responded.

"Wow, it's just…wow." Zoey commented. "Nate's pretty amazing, isn't he?"

Roxy paused a little as she heard this. She was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" Roxy called out. Zoey didn't seem to take any notice at all, continuing to be lost in her own thoughts. Roxy went to the door and opened it, finding a security guard standing before her. He was carrying a box and a letter.

"Delivery from the Commander." He told her, handing them over. "You're all to assemble at the Command Centre this afternoon."

"I have a class…"

"She is aware of your commitments." He told her. "You are to assemble at four."

"Do you know what this is about?" She asked.

"There is to be a press conference." He informed her. "They're firing up the Morph-X system today."

"Today?" Roxy asked excitedly. She already knew that they were planning to begin the Morph-X system soon, and on that day, when they fired up the system, that was when she, Ravi and Blaze would be transformed into Power Rangers for the first time. She was a little surprised it was so soon. She thought they'd have more time to prepare, the Commander had given them all leave to settle their affairs outside the base before they were transformed, but she thought she'd get a little more warning before that happened. Perhaps a day or two to spend time with her parents and her brother. She tore open the letter to see if there was an explanation for the surprising expediency of their decision. She closed the door, lost in the letter.

"It's today. They're firing up today." Roxy announced. She didn't get an answer though, instead seeing that Zoey was still staring at herself. "Um…Zoey, did you hear what I said?"

"Uh huh." She replied dreamily. Roxy could tell that she wasn't paying attention in the slightest.

"Zoey, today's the day I become a Ranger?" She continued. Zoey still didn't reply. "The day that all the work we're doing here comes to fruition?"

Zoey just nodded, but grinned mindlessly at the mirror.

"I'll bet Nate will be happy." Roxy stated. "All those years, his brain-child finally seeing the light of day."

"Nate?" Zoey asked. "Yeah, he's…he's really something isn't he?"

She then looked to her watch.

"Oh, shoot, why didn't you tell me the time? I'm almost late!" Zoey rushed out as she tied up her hair. "Um…yeah, good luck with that…thing…you were doing."

As she ran out, Roxy just watched her go. She just sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Really?" She asked. "It's not enough that I'm a freaking superhero, you need me to do this too?"

She opened the box, finding inside it a new communicator, one that would also act as her morpher. She took off her old one, strapping the new one onto her wrist. She looked to the ceiling one more time.

"If you want me to do this, can I at least get a sign?" She asked. She heard a thud, and turned to see a book on the shelf had fallen over. It was Zoey's books that she needed for the required reading for the Ranger program, which she had lined up neatly on the shelf with a heavy heart after she had been cut. The books that only Roxy knew that Nate had given her. She just smiled and looked back to the ceiling.

"Alright." She responded. "I guess being a Ranger all you have planned for me. I guess I'll do this too."

In another part of the city, Muriel Reeves rushed into the television studio. She had to lie low for a time after her near-miss with Grid Battleforce. She had narrowly escaped their pursuit. She was lucky that she had checked the monitor in time to see them closing in on her web-cam and destroy the laptop. She'd been investigating rumours surrounding Grid Battleforce ever since she'd heard of them. Even before her daughter joined, she was wondering what secrets they had to hide. She'd heard the pitches that they had delivered, promising a source of energy that wasn't just clean, not just all but limitless, but that was almost without cost.

The claims were bold at a time when energy and fuel costs were rising at an alarming rate. No one in the fossil fuel industry would say how desperate the situation was but it was now beyond they point that they could claim resources weren't becoming scarcer. A tank of gas was now almost forty dollars a gallon meaning that for many the cost of running a car was now greater than the cost of purchasing it in the first place. The cost of heating and running a home was coming close to unaffordable in some places. The claims of revolutionary change were news that was exciting to many, but too good to be true to others. Muriel was just one such person. If someone claimed to be able to change the world, there had to be something to it. What did they want in return? Could they deliver?

She knew she had risked a lot in her pursuit of a story. She had avoided asking Zoey to make inquiries. Not only did she foresee that people would naturally assume the daughter of the reporter that broke the story of the truth of Morph-X, she also knew Zoey would never agree anyway. She had considered whether it was wise to even pursue a story, but it was simply too important to let rest. No, in the end she'd decided it was best to proceed, but seek another source. It was better that in the instance Zoey was suspected that she could answer any questions with honest lack of knowledge.

She had hastily gathered what she had and ran towards her editor. He threw his hands up looking at her.

"Muriel, there you are. I've been trying to reach you for…!"

"I know, I'm sorry." She told him. "I needed to lie low, but I've got the story of the century! I swear, let me…"

"If you'd had your head somewhere other than your ass, you'd know the story of the century is already unfolding!" He told her.

"I'm telling you, it's about Morph-X!" Muriel rushed out. "If you just give me a minute…?"

"Morph-X? You really are behind the curve, aren't you?" He asked her. "They're calling a press-conference today. They're firing up the system this afternoon."

"What?" She asked. The editor just shook his head dismissively.

"I don't know what you had, but today you've got jack shit." He replied. "Now, get your shit together and go to make-up. You're covering the turning on ceremony?"

"But…but…"

"Leave the stories to those who are better suited to it." The editor snapped. "Be glad you still have a job."

As he left, Muriel looked to the folder in her hands. All those chances she'd taken, all the risks. Once again, her efforts had been for nothing. The last she had heard, Morph-X wasn't due to be put into full production for weeks. She suspected her leak had spurred on the accelerated timetable, caused them to rush to get ahead of the curve and put out the narrative they wanted to be seen. It was the story of her career. She was tantalisingly close to her big moment, only to watch it go up in flames.

Elsewhere in the city, Mayor Daniels was in his office, waiting for his driver. He had a few matters to attend to that morning, but there was nothing more important than his visit to the Grid Battleforce headquarters.

He'd had his concerns about their secrecy, but their promises were too great to be ignored. The financial backing of five of the richest families in the world, the promise of being the testing ground for the technology that would bring about the next Golden Age was all too great for him to resist. Although he did worry now, that perhaps he had acted in his haste. Perhaps he had listened to honeyed words that hid a poisonous aftertaste.

The Morphing Grid. There were few his age who hadn't heard of it. It was now almost two decades since Master Org had been defeated, and the last Power Rangers disappeared to whatever lives their retirement had brought. Most were never publicly known, and so the lives of Rangers were a mystery to most. There was much conjecture of course. After all, what kind of spectacular life would satisfy a superhero? A God?

He had always loved the ancient classic tales, but even he had to wonder what kind of live would satisfy one that had wielded Godlike power? Would they be like mighty Odysseus? The ruler of Ithaca? Become a king? The world already knew at least one Ranger had become President. Had there been others? Or would they be like Achilles? The hero of the Trojan War, who sought only to retire to his own lands and harboured dreams of peacefully living out his days as a farmer?

He shook his head. It was a passing thought, but that wasn't what concerned him. He was old enough to have seen the other side of the Morphing Grid. The monsters, the aliens, even daemons had all come seeking that power for themselves. While many were glad for the peace, and many saw the Wild Force Rangers' victory as absolute, seeing off the last great threat, Mayor Daniels had to wonder if it wasn't a coincidence that in all the time there had been no Rangers, and no one harnessing the power of the Grid, there had been no monsters.

He stared at the picture on his desk. He had so many questions that needed answers, so many fears. How could he live with himself if he was the one that had invited the ruin of his city for the promise of coin? His phone rang, tearing him from his thoughts.

"Mayor Daniels." He answered. He smiled as he heard the voice on the other end. "Arthur! It's good to hear from you! Tell me, how did my son fare in his interview?"

He loved Devon dearly, but he had recently had to bail him out of jail following a brawl in an arcade. He had been frustrated for some time that Devon didn't seem to show any interest in college or finding employment, but the shame of having to collect him from a police station was making him fear for his well-being. It was a miracle none of the tabloids had picked up on the story. Under his administration the police in Coral Harbour had been well-equipped and paid and so they had remained silent on the matter when other less-fortunate public figures had found their shame splashed on the front page within hours. However, he was starting to worry now that his son's lack of direction and focus was leading to him being led astray. He'd pulled some strings to have an old friend line up a job interview, but now he was hearing…

"What do you mean he never showed up?" Mayor Daniels demanded. "Yes, of course, I'm sorry my friend. I'm sorry you wasted your time. Rest assured I will get answers!"

With that, he left his office.

"Call my driver around front!" Mayor Daniels demanded of his secretary.

"Sir?" She asked. "Your appointment isn't until…"

"I have business to discuss with my son!" He responded angrily. "Summon my driver!"

In the Riptide Gym, Blaze was leading a special meeting of his class. He, Roxy and Ravi had all been running classes as a way of serving the community. However, they had all known that soon their time leading these classes would come to an end. Now that they had been chosen as Rangers, they would no longer have time to dedicate to such pursuits. They had planned to spend the remaining time of their leave giving their students more extensive lessons, but now, they had to break the bad news to their students that they were not to receive the weeks of intensive lessons they were expecting.

They'd all now received word that this was the day they were to ascend, and so they had called their classes for one final class before they left them to new instructors. It was hard not to be disappointed, but they understood and wished their sensei well in whatever new path their lives took.

Roxy's beginner's class had ended long since, and Ravi's class was over too, though he continued to work out on the heavy bag. Roxy had gone to the bar to get them both a drink.

"Carrot and wheatgrass." She told him, setting it down. "It's sad, don't you think?"

"What is?" Ravi asked her.

"Ravi, I know you love your students as much as I love mine." Roxy told him. "I know we signed up for this, but I thought it'd be a little while longer before we had to leave them."

"Right now, we look after a couple of dozen." Ravi responded. "After today, we'll be responsible for the whole city."

"Always spoken like the recruitment handbook." She laughed. "Come on, you can't tell me you're not going to miss them surely?"

"More than some of them will miss us by the looks of things." Ravi said, pointing out one of the students. Roxy followed his gesture, seeing one of the students in the line, with ear buds in, dancing in the formation.

Blaze wandered among the students, calling out instructions. He wasn't pushing them particularly hard. In truth he had even less desire than normal to run this class today. His mind was still on his conversation with his father.

He had done as he had promised. He had trained and worked and where necessary he had schemed and manoeuvred his way to the top. He was now a Ranger, and even that was still not good enough. His father had dismissed the news as though he had announced he had graduated Kindergarten at age 21.

His mind went over and over the conversation. His father was always an exceptionalist. In his mind, the Winchesters should rule the planet, and anything short of that was a failure. He was close to doing that himself, with his commanding share in the Morph-X technology that would soon make all other energy production obsolete. Yet for his son, he had lofty ambitions. By the time his father passed, he no doubt expected Blaze to not only follow in his footsteps, but exceed him. Did it matter that Blaze had little interest for politics and position? What even could surpass his father?

This was his day of triumph, the day when he was meant to become a legend like all the Rangers before him, and yet all he could feel was bile and bitterness. His father had stripped any joy he could feel in his accomplishment, only caring if his son would stand above the other Rangers. Blaze hoped that he would, if nothing else so he could finally hear his approval. If he didn't…would his father believe his word if he said he did anyway? The Rangers were meant to keep their identities private. He'd already risked everything even telling his father he'd be a Ranger, but as he wouldn't know which one he was…would it be such a difficult task to convince him he was the leader since no one would be able to deny the story?

Blaze felt his stomach churning. Lying to his father, was that what he would be reduced to? To live his life as a fraud to feed on the few tiny scraps of affection his dad could muster like a starving dog begging for scraps from a table?

His gaze found one of the students, a new one whose name he had never really cared to learn, a brown belt no less, dancing in line. Upon closer inspection the student was wearing ear buds, listening to music. Blaze found his anger with a new target. He didn't care much for the lesson in hand, but as a life long student of Karate, he always believed in the reverence of the position of sensei. The student was mocking him, disrespecting his class. It was a personal slight, one that he didn't have any intention of letting stand. He crossed over to the student, tapping his arm. The student pulled out his ear buds, looking at Blaze.

"We're not disturbing you, are we?" He demanded. Devon could see he had been caught. He had been attending Blaze's classes for a while now, ever since his dad had forbidden him from taking lessons with Mike. He wished he could keep doing lessons with Mike, but he loved Martial Arts so much, he just wanted to learn. Unfortunately, on this occasion, he wasn't getting anything that held his interest. For the past half hour or so Blaze had them performing straight punches in horse stance. It was something that Mike had taught him a couple of years ago. While he understood the value of refreshing basics every now and then, he was starting to get to the point he was learning nothing and so he had just gotten bored.

"Oh, no not at all, I was just…" He started to say, only for Blaze to glare at him, folding his arms. It didn't take a psychologist to see that he was pissed. "Oh, I see. That was sarcasm."

"The only way you're going to learn Karate, is by doing what I tell you, and by practicing." Blaze snapped at him. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. First his father and now he had some kid disrespecting him in his own dojo? The worst part was the guy in front of him didn't even seem to acknowledge he had done anything wrong.

"I agree." Devon said. "But I was waiting until you might teach some moves that are a little more…challenging."

Devon knew he shouldn't have been messing around in class. Mike was far from a harsh or strict sensei, but even he held a certain reverence for the discipline of the lessons. That said, he did feel like it was becoming apparent Blaze was taking the fact this was his last lesson to mean he didn't have to try. He could tell that Blaze was already angry, but he also felt like his criticism was valid and perhaps a gentle reminder he was teaching an advanced class might get him to teach them something they hadn't all learned before their first grading.

Blaze was livid by now. This kid not only disrespected his position by goofing around in class but now he was bringing his teaching into question? He backed off a little.

"Oh, so you want something a little more challenging, do you?" He asked. "Perhaps you'd like to be the sensei, is that it?"

"Well, now but…"

"CLASS! Stop what you're doing!" Blaze called out. "This student would like me to teach him something a little more challenging. Form up a ring!"

"Look, I'm sorry, maybe I…"

"No, you want something a little more challenging. You don't throw down a gauntlet like that and back out." Blaze told him, gesturing to a line. Devon reluctantly stepped up as Blaze went to another.

"Blaze!" Ravi called out. "You've made your point, just toss him and leave him alone."

"Don't worry Ravi." Blaze told him, pulling into a guard. "I've got this!"

Devon pulled into a guard as well, knowing that he'd overstepped the mark and fully expecting Blaze to make a point to put him in his place. Sparring, score a point or two, let him see that he knew better.

They moved off their marks and started the bout, but as Blaze hit a kick to his gut, Devon was lifted clean off the floor, landing hard a little way off. He stared up at him from the floor. It looked like Blaze was intending something a little more than just making a point.

"To the line." Blaze told him. They began again, and Devon defended himself against a couple of hits. Blaze hit him hard with an elbow, putting him down. Devon quickly had to check to make sure his jaw was still attached. He stared up in anger. Whatever was going on in Blaze's head, he realised this wasn't just sparring anymore, now he had to defend himself or he was going to be seriously hurt.

He kipped up off the floor, and the two circled each other, beginning to feel each other out. As soon as Devon started taking things seriously Blaze could see he had a lot more talent than his brown belt implied. Blaze felt like the style was vaguely familiar. It wasn't a standard form of karate; it had a lot more of an athletic bent to it. Devon even flipped over him, before back-fisting him in the face, staggering him. Blaze held his hand to his lip, before pulling it away finding blood.

"Careful." Devon told him. "Someone's going to get hurt!"

"That someone is you!" Blaze yelled as he renewed his attack. He went at him with a barely contained fury. Within a couple of moments, Devon was quickly under pressure again, off-balance and on the retreat. This only infuriated Blaze further. He kicked Devon hard sending him flying straight out of the ring. Devon clutched his ribs in pain.

"Looks like you still have something to learn." Blaze snorted. "Come back when you're ready to learn."

As he turned his back, Devon got to his feet, much to the surprise of everyone there. Blaze was just as surprised to see him coming back into the ring.

"I think I can take another lesson!" Devon said. Blaze just sneered as he went to his bag, grabbing a couple of clubs.

"Somehow, I don't know if you'll learn." He replied, throwing one to Devon.

"BLAZE STOP IT!" Roxy screamed from the side-lines. It was too late though, they had renewed their battle, and it looked like Blaze was escalating it far beyond what it needed to be. They exchanged blows, Blaze taking a few shots that surprised him, but in the end, he saw an opening as Devon came for an overhand strike. He managed to disarm him, sweeping his legs out from under him. Devon was on the floor with Blaze pacing over him like a caged lion. He looked down on Devon, his heart still burning with thoughts of the insults and disrespect. He was constantly belittled and shown up. He raised his hand, preparing to strike while Devon covered up his head. The blow never came, but something else did that was almost worse.

"DEVON!" An all-too-familiar voice barked. Blaze looked around, seeing Mayor Daniels approaching. He backed off, catching his breath as Devon started to get back to his feet. He sheepishly smiled at him.

"Hey dad." Devon greeted him. Ravi and Roxy just looked to each other.

"His dad's the mayor?" They chorused. Mayor Daniels didn't seem interested in the rest of the class though.

"You are leaving." Mayor Daniels commanded his son. "NOW!"

"Thanks for the lesson Blaze." Devon said, nursing his wounds. Blaze clenched his jaw as he watched him go.

"HEY!" Blaze called after them. They both turned towards him. "You disrespect your sensei, your done. Don't come back!"

"Don't worry." Mayor Daniels assured him. "He won't!"

As Mayor Daniels and Devon left, Blaze still couldn't get his mind off what had transpired. He eventually looked around, seeing everyone staring at him. He just threw down his club.

"Class dismissed." He snapped, before storming towards the changing rooms.


	22. Launch Day

Zoey was in the laundry, finishing off the backlog of work that had built up while she was at the infirmary. The fact that it had just piled up because she wasn't there to do it rather than others taking the initiative to redistribute it among the other workers was just one irritation she had about the whole situation that she fully intended to take up with her sergeant. She'd done so much already to re-organise the laundry, putting together a more efficient system that was a benefit to all of them, and yet no one had thought it might be an idea to deal with the backlog to keep everything up to date?

She was glad that she hadn't had to miss any more time off work. If she had, she was sure that things would only get worse and worse before anyone thought to address the backlog from her area. Presuming they ever did.

She was just finishing folding a set of overalls, putting it on a stack when her sergeant came by.

"REEVES!" He yelled, a habit that was necessitated by the machines. Zoey looked to him as he shoved a trolley towards him. "Go do the laundry rounds!"

"But it's only Tuesday." She responded. "Rounds aren't until tomorrow."

"Yeah, but we've got a dignitary visiting." He told her. "Some big-shot from city hall is coming to tour the facility. Commander Shaw wants the place spotless for when they get here."

Great, that was all she needed, more work. Still, she figured at least emptying the hampers a day early would mean that the incoming pile wouldn't be quite as large. If she was lucky then with an extra hour or two, she could finally be caught up by the end of the day. She just took the trolley and headed out to do the laundry run. She could only think that an hour or two out of the laundry might put her in a better mood. Besides, if she ran into Nate, it would give her another chance to thank him.

In another part of the base, Nate was preparing the equipment for the morph transfer. The Rangers were likely already on their way to the base for the procedure.

"Make sure the systems are calibrated and perform a full system diagnostic!" He called out. "I want to make sure everything runs perfectly!"

The others were buzzing as they went about their duties. There was a palpable sense of excitement, most of them had grown up on stories of the Rangers, and had been working for months towards the technology that would lead to this point, the day when Earth would see its first Rangers in almost two decades. For him though…it was the culmination of a dream he'd had almost his whole life. He'd been working on this since he was six years old.

He looked around, checking no one was watching, before pulling an old personal computer out of his bag, setting it up in the corner. It was the first personal computer he'd ever owned. When most kids' parents were getting them Legos or colouring books, his had bought him his first PC. He felt a hand on his shoulder and let out a huge shriek, almost jumping right out of his skin.

"Hey there Nate." Roxy greeted him. "Wow, someone's a little on-edge. Anyone would think it was you that was about to have his genetic code put through a blender."

"Please don't do that." He said as he tried to catch his breath. "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I was just curious, wanted to see how things were progressing. You know…with the DNA blender." She teased him. Nate just flared his nostrils in the way that always amused Roxy. She did love teasing him about his technology. She was a little curious, after all this was the machinery that in a couple of hours would be turning her into a Power Ranger, but she had slipped in to speak to Nate first. She found her attention grabbed by the PC though. "Hey, that's pretty retro."

"Yeah, it's…" He looked around as though he wanted to admit something shameful. He gestured her closer. "It was my first PC."

"Uh…OK?" She asked. "And what's it doing here? I mean…you have all the funding and equipment you could want for something a little more current surely."

"It's nothing to do with the system. It isn't even connected." Nate told her in a barely audible whisper. "It's…"

She couldn't quite hear the last part; it was more of a mumble than anything else.

"I'm sorry?" She asked.

"For luck." He said a little louder. She just smiled. "I know, I know its silly, something as abstract as luck but…I've had this since I was a kid and I've brought it to every project I've ever created…"

"Aw, you have a good luck charm! That's so adorable!" She gushed.

"Could you please not tell anyone?" He begged her. "I know it's silly but…"

"No, no I get it. I totally do." She told him. "Of course, if I keep your little secret then you might just be able to do something for me."

"D…d…do something for you?" He stammered. "What would that be?"

"ROXY!" Commander Shaw called out, seeing her. "Come through to the briefing room!"

"I'm coming!" Roxy replied. She looked to Nate and smiled. "OK, I've got to go, but just remember…you owe me."

"OK, I'll see you later." Nate replied, but he couldn't help being a little worried by the way Roxy said that. He had known her long enough to know she wasn't a malicious person, but she did have a mischievous side. He was a little concerned as to what she would want him to do in regard to keeping his good luck charm a secret.

As he walked away, he didn't notice the screen on his old computer swirling, before a large spark arced from that into the main computer.

In a limo, heading through the streets, Devon was sitting with a sullen expression, staring out the window of the car. His attention was only grabbed as his dad offered him a handkerchief. He looked to him and reluctantly took it, beginning to dab his lip. His dad had been remarkably silent for most of the journey, but Devon unfortunately knew that likely only meant he was winding up for something.

"Imagine my shock, when I found you at the gym, when you were supposed to be at that job interview." Mayor Daniels began. Devon just looked to him.

"Wow, dad." Devon responded. "You know, most dads would ask if their kid was alright before the lecture starts."

"Most fathers don't have sons that think it's a brilliant idea to pick a fight with the World Karate Champion." Mayor Daniels replied a little abruptly. "I think a few bruises and a fat lip is getting off pretty lightly all things considered."

Devon was angry, but he didn't feel like there was much point in talking about it. He clearly didn't want to hear what had happened. All he seemed to be interested in was that stupid job interview.

"Do you have any idea how many strings I pulled to get you that job interview?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "Arthur's been a friend of mine for years, and after setting it up for you, you just blew it off. Do you have any idea how that makes me look?"

"Dad, I don't know anything about cleaning carpets." Devon responded wearily. He could see the look of disdain on his dad's face as he said this. It was a weak argument and he knew it. Of course, he didn't know anything about cleaning carpets, who the hell did until someone taught them? Of course, he doubted pointing out to his dad he hadn't even asked him if he wanted to learn how to clean carpets or if he actually wanted a job in the first place was going to ease the mood at all.

"No, but you're an expert at video games and Karate." Mayor Daniels said a little derisively. "I suppose you were just born knowing how to do those things right?"

"My face says I'm not much of an expert right now." Devon sighed.

"When you pick a fight with a World Champion I'm not surprised." Mayor Daniels said in response. Mayor Daniels said impatiently. He did love his son, he just wanted to see him find some kind of direction, to see him show an interest in something other than learning out to fight or play silly games that didn't do anything other than waste the potential of brains that got little exercise as far as he could see. "Son, those things aren't going to take you anywhere! You have so much potential. You're in good shape, you got good grades in school, so I know there's a brain in there if you'd just use it for something other than making a plumber jump on turtles."

Devon pulled out his phone and started playing a game on it. He had heard this lecture so many times he could recite it from heart.

"Son, one day opportunity's going to knock, and I just want you to be ready." Mayor Daniels told him. However, he could see that Devon wasn't listening any longer. He wished that their conversations didn't keep ending up this way. Over the last couple of years especially, he and Devon just seemed to get further and further apart. He was at a loss as to what he should do. He tapped the glass between him and the driver. "Drop me off up ahead at Grid Battleforce Headquarters."

"You're going to Grid Battleforce?" Devon rushed out. Mayor Daniels turned to see Devon looking at him with his eyes wide. Why did this have to be what got his attention?

"Yes." He sighed. He didn't want to tell Devon that he now had very real concerns as to whether he was going to have to move to try and shut the whole thing down. He'd championed it for a couple of years, but now he heard they were tapping the Morphing Grid, it was a different matter.

"Rumour has it they have this amazing simulator! It's unbeatable!" Devon said excitedly. There were a lot of rumours about the technological marvels of Grid Battleforce, some of which even broached into the gaming community. There were many video games that had originally started life as training simulations for military hardware. A few years ago, Devon had achieved an ace ranking on a fighter jet game that was so close to a direct simulation it actually came with the Air Force's official training guide. Mayor Daniels though heard Devon's words and only heard more video games talk. "Can I come?"

"Absolutely not!" Mayor Daniels put down flatly. "If what I heard from the press release is true, that they're really tapping into the Morphing Grid, I don't want you anywhere near that place. This whole experiment is a big mistake."

As he turned his attention to his own phone, Devon was about to turn away and sulk, but as he did so, he saw his dad had left his security pass lying on the seat beside them. He checked to make sure his dad wasn't looking, and quickly took a picture of it, making sure to catch the scanner code on the screen.

Back at Grid Battleforce, Ravi, Roxy and Blaze had all received their final briefings. They were in the changing room getting dressed in their uniforms, having been given their Ranger designations.

Blaze was admiring himself in the mirror as he strapped on his jacket. He had a huge smile on his face as he turned this way and that, posing and admiring himself. He could hardly believe his luck when Commander Shaw had announced him as the Red Ranger. He was planning on telling his father that he had become the Red Ranger and the leader anyway, since the classified nature of the project meant that he would likely never find out, but now he had heard that it was official.

The uniform was white, with accents in blazing red, with grey trousers and strong boots. He didn't really care so much for the uniform, from what they had said in the briefing, it wasn't like they were going to wear them often. The Rangers' identities were only meant to be known within Grid Battleforce, and so walking around in those uniforms at other times would only defeat the point in keeping their identities secret. Much like some special forces units, like Delta Force or the British Special Air Service, they would have other designations within Grid Battleforce and only be called to Ranger Duties in times of need. On paper at least no reference to them as being Rangers would exist. As far as anyone else was concerned, Blaze would be a hand-to-hand combat instructor.

"Ravi!" He called out, smiling as he admired himself. "How do I look?"

"You look fine." Ravi answered without even looking at him.

"I'm sorry, let's try that again. How do I look?" Blaze asked. Ravi sighed.

"You look fine…sir." Ravi responded. This was the other part that Blaze loved.

"That's better!" Blaze responded, before heading out of the changing room. As he left, Roxy leaned in towards Ravi.

"Wow, I didn't think he'd be able to fit a head that size up his own ass." She commented. Ravi couldn't help laughing at that one, despite every instinct to respect his commanding officer. It was a little bit of a blow to him that he hadn't been chosen as leader, and as a person he didn't really like Blaze terribly much, but he respected the chain of command enough to believe he would not have been chosen without good reason. He was on the team, and what mattered was the duty he was assigned to. He would be the Blue Ranger. As he stood up, strapping on his jacket, Roxy came to his side, pulling on her gloves.

"So, you nervous?" She asked him.

"Morph-X is about to combine my DNA with the DNA of a gorilla." He reminded her as he picked up his gloves and started to pull them on. "Yeah, and hopefully make me into a superhero, so…yeah, I guess I'm a little nervous. You?"

"No." She told him, looking around to make sure no one was watching, before coming in closer, placing a hand on his arm gently. "Because I've got you to back me up."

Ravi saw this, he felt her touch, and all the feelings he had for her came rushing to the fore. There was a part of him that wanted to take her and run, to just say 'screw it' to the whole thing, tell Grid Battleforce they could find other Rangers and leave with her. But he gently brushed her hand off him.

"Roxy, we talked about this." He reminded her. "We can't be together, not anymore. We both knew the rules when we were chosen."

"Yeah, we talked about this, and you said it was stupid." She reminded him. "And in about an hour's time, what are they going to do? UN-scramble our DNA?"

"It is a stupid rule, but we can't just ignore it just because we don't like it." Ravi reminded her. "And if I go to my mom and get her to change the rules to suit me…to suit us…then that'll just prove to everyone they were right about me."

This last part broke Roxy's heart. She knew that just ignoring the rules was one thing, but it was quite another to campaign to change the rules that didn't make sense. There were many military regulations that had changed over the years with good reason. It was still not that long ago that military regulations forbade people who were in same-sex relationships from doing so openly while serving. Now, there were many people that served while enjoying a home life with the people they loved. But to hear Ravi say that because of his connection to his mom he couldn't even ask her to change the rules, to know that it would be impossible for them to be together for as long as they were Rangers, that was devastating to her.

"Please don't make this tougher than it already is." Ravi begged her as he walked away. Roxy just watched him go sadly.

"Yeah." She sighed. She was completely heartbroken, knowing that for however long their tenure as Rangers lasted, the man she loved would be forever beyond her reach. Through her heartbreak, her thoughts turned to Nate and Zoey. She loved them both dearly, and could see that they clearly cared about each other. Just because she couldn't get her own happy ending didn't mean that they couldn't. Perhaps, she could even live vicariously through them, gaining some measure of happiness in knowing that she had guided them to a place that was denied to her.

"ROXY!" Blaze called as he rounded the door. "Move your ass, it's almost time!"

"Yeah, sure." She replied, sniffing and wiping away some tears. "I'll be right there."

At the front entrance, Ben and Betty had been assigned to the security detail. With so much going on and so many people needed all over the base, Commander Shaw had seen fit to put them on the desk duty to ensure that no unauthorised visitors came in.

They'd already let the reporter that had been the recipient of the leak slip through their fingers, and they both had been given a pretty serious talking to that lasted more than an hour to remember it by. Commander Shaw had left them under no false impressions that the press was likely to try anything to get a scoop before the switch-throwing ceremony, and to be firmly on their guard. The press were tricky and were likely to try anything to get in. Betty was at the desk, standing on top of a small set of step ladders so that she could see over the desk. The door opened and a man she had seen a few times came in. Mayor Daniels' face had been in newspapers, on television and in campaign flyers all over the city many times over the years.

"Good day." He said, handing over his security pass. "I'm here to see Commander Shaw."

Betty was about to just call Commander Shaw, but harsh memories of the long lecture about how reporters were likely to try anything were fresh on her mind. What if this was a look-alike? What if he was wearing a rubber mask? She closely inspected the pass and his face.

"This looks like you." She said sceptically.

"It is me!" He humphed rather impatiently.

"Well, we'll see about that! Won't we?" She replied in her most intimidating tone. Something that seemed a whole lot less intimidating once she rounded the desk and Mayor Daniels could see she barely made it up to his midriff. "Ben! Retinal scanner! Wait there, sir!"

She flashed him in the face with a device, blinding him.

"Is that really necessary?" He demanded, blinking to clear his vision.

"We'll decide what's necessary." Betty told him. "Ben, search him!"

As they were distracted with Mayor Daniels, Devon came in the door. He could see that the security team was putting him through the works. A part of him wanted to stay and watch. It was pretty funny to see his dad getting more and more irritated by the security, but as he noticed no one was between him and the entrance, he figured he wouldn't get a better shot. He ran over, scanning his phone at the scanner.

"I can't believe that worked!" He gasped as he got a green light. He just slipped in, heading down the hall, hoping to find somewhere he could hide until the place cleared out a little. He imagined that once the ceremony started, most of the attention would be at the front of the building. Once that happened, he'd have all the time in the world to find the simulator. Mike was going to be sick with jealousy when he told him!

Back at the front, Mayor Daniels humoured Ben and Betty for so long, but after a while his patience was finally at its limit. He had been promised full access to the base, and yet he was getting harassed by security. Was it a ploy to irritate him so much he'd just leave? He finally had enough.

"Do you know who I am?" He barked at them. Zoey was just coming past the main entrance when she heard his voice. She could hardly believe she was standing only a few feet away from the mayor. She could see Ben and Betty stammering, trying to come up with an excuse.

"I do! You're Mayor Daniels!" Zoey interjected, saving her friends from further embarrassment. She thrust out a hand. "I'll take you inside, I'm Zoey!"

"Pleasure to meet you Zoey." He greeted her.

"Follow me sir!" She said, guiding him inside. "It's a huge honour meeting you sir, I was…well, I know you're busy but I'm glad you approved the designs for the invisible fences by the woodlands."

"Invisible…you came up with that?" He asked her. It was an idea that had crossed his table a while back, something proposed to reduce accidents caused by wild animals running onto the freeway from the woodlands. It had appeared to work, and the accident numbers had already gone down.

"Well, I…came up with a concept and…It was a group effort." She told him as she grabbed a laundry cart and started pushing it down the corridor. "Today's so exciting, Morph-X is going to change the world! And I'm going to help! I've got ideas! Lots of them, like the invisible fences and Morph-X powered bicycles and…"

"Thanks Zoey." Someone said, dumping a load of laundry in her basket. She then saw the mayor just staring at her. She could only imagine what he thought of her, going on and on about all her ideas. She did sometimes let her enthusiasm run away with her. She imagined that he probably met a hundred people like her every day, people that thought they had all the ideas to fix every problem.

"If…I ever get out of the laundry." She concluded sheepishly. "Of course, I trained to be a Grid Battleforce Cadet…but…I got cut…"

She was starting to cringe, what was she thinking? Why couldn't she just stop talking? She'd gotten nervous being so close to someone with the influence needed to change the world for the better and now her mouth just wouldn't stop running away from her.

"Still, I can make a difference, because I'm not afraid of big problems. I solve big problems!" She said, finally stopping talking. She looked to him nervously, wondering how he was going to react to the deranged laundry girl that had ambushed him. However, he just smiled.

"That's exactly why I became Mayor." He told her. He did feel the nerves coming from her, it was hard not to. He'd only known her for about a minute and she'd already said more to him than most people did in several days. "I think you'll go far young lady."

"There you are." Commander Shaw said as she arrived, shaking his hand. "Mr Mayor."

"Commander Shaw, I presume." He concluded. She just nodded in response, before looking to Zoey, who was still frozen to the spot. "Back to work Ms Reeves."

"Pleased to meet you Mr Mayor." Zoey replied, before scurrying off back on her rounds. Commander Shaw just gestured to him to follow her.

"Why don't we begin with our main laboratory?" She suggested.

"Laboratory?" He asked. He was a little surprised, he was half-expecting to be given the run-around, but she was going to take him straight to the laboratory?

"Of course." She replied. "You want to see what you're signing off on don't you?"

"Well, yes, of course." He answered. She just smiled.

"Then follow me." She told him. "I'm going to introduce you to someone who'll explain everything."


	23. The Project Revealed

Blaze, Roxy and Ravi were in the lab, just running through the last of Nate's tests. Although all the cadets had received one of the most rigorous and thorough physical examinations ever conceived before they were admitted to the program, he was taking no chances. The power of the Ranger Rigs was immense, and it was going to work in combination with extensive mutation of the host to enhance their already considerable physical gifts.

"Alright, that is looking excellent." Nate said as he took an armband off Roxy, having taken her blood pressure. "You're all in absolutely excellent health. Everything's almost ready for the procedure."

"So, what are those things?" Blaze asked him, flicking a thumb in the direction of some devices that looked a lot like beds, with restraints attached to them, and kind of a canopy that would completely envelope their heads.

"I'm so glad you asked me that Blaze." Nate replied as he went to his workbench and opened a chiller cabinet. He pulled out a very large syringe, with a VERY large needle. "I'm guessing you just volunteered to go first."

"Wait…what the hell?" Blaze asked. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh, this?" Nate asked him. "It's just a little something that helps catalyse the morphing sequence. You see, the Morph-X sequencing will effectively strip your DNA down to its base codes and re-write it. This will help make the whole thing just a little more comfortable."

"A…a…a…a…nd the b…b…bed?" He stammered. "Why are the restraints there?"

"Aw, you're not scared of a little shot are you Blaze?" Ravi teased him.

"NO!" He yelled. "But just…look at that thing, it's the size of an ice pick!"

"It's just a shot." Roxy assured him. "I'm sure Nate wouldn't do anything that would hurt us, right Nate?"

"There might be some discomfort…"

"Discomfort?" Blaze snapped. "Then what do we need to be tied down for?"

"You're not scared, are you?" Nate asked him. Blaze just glared at Nate with annoyance. He looked to Ravi, who just smiled and shook his head.

"You're the leader, right?" He asked, gesturing to the devices. "Don't you think you should lead by example?"

"I'm NOT scared!" Blaze yelled in a way that convinced precisely no one. He got into one of the beds, allowing Nate to strap him in.

"Now, I've mixed it in with a mild sedative so you should be more or less in a kind of…well…micro sleep. Like a short nap. You shouldn't move once the shot's been administered, but this is just in case your body has unforeseen reactions."

Nate started to sweat a little. Nate was enjoying his discomfort a little as he watched the normally cocky and self-assured Blaze on the verge of a panic.

"The canopy is kind of a sensory dampener. It'll provide a little soothing auditory stimulus while blocking out any vision." Nate told him. "Once I give you the shot, you should be out pretty quick, and you should be awake within about ten minutes."

"Alright, OK then." Blaze said, breathing deeply, trying to psych himself up. "OK, so…go ahead, get started."

"Started?" Nate asked him, showing him the needle. "I've already finished!"

As much as he was enjoying seeing Blaze get freaked out by a needle, he was still a consummate professional. He'd never do anything that would bring any of the Ranger candidates, even Blaze, to harm. He didn't even really think they needed the catalyst in theory, but he just wanted to be sure that any discomfort they did suffer was as mild as humanly possible. Ravi and Roxy stepped up, taking their place in the other two beds as Nate pulled the canopy down over Blaze's head. As he was strapping Roxy in, his communicator sounded.

"Nate, this is Commander Shaw." She greeted him. "Our guest of honour is here. Is the lab prepared for the tour?"

"If you just give me a moment, the catalysation process will be complete." Nate answered. "By the time you get here, the Rangers should all be resting soundly, and their identities concealed."

"Alright, we'll be there in a couple of minutes." She told him.

Devon made his way along the corridor as far as he dared, before darting into a door to get out of the way. There were a lot of personnel milling around, and while it looked like a lot of them had a lot to do, he didn't want to risk being discovered.

He knew that breaking into a building over a videogame was a dumb move. People didn't tend to take the idea of trespassers too lightly. One time in High School, he'd been taken on a field trip to a software developer in order to show the students the potential career paths that could be taken from those with a flair for coding. He fully appreciated the artistry and skill of coding, but he only really knew basics. More a case of manipulating code than anything else. He had made some mods for existing games in order to increase the challenge of them, create new levels and challenges for when he had exhausted the content the developers had made and suchlike but he didn't have the patience or, if he was honest, the technical abilities to write the kind of novel codes needed to create a game.

On that field trip, they'd been going around the offices of one of his favourite developers' offices, and he knew that they were close to completing a highly anticipated game. He had taken the opportunity to get 'lost' from the group in order to try and see if he could find and see some juicy spoilers, he could tell his friends about. Maybe even see if anyone had left a copy open that he could get to try out. In the end they had found him and not only thrown him out of the building, but had taken his picture and details and permanently barred him from returning! They had also threatened him with barring him from being able to play their games, but that threat was simply so ridiculous and unworkable he'd never given it another thought after that day.

But Grid Battleforce's battle simulators…they were an urban myth of the tech world. Like Modern Warfare on steroids. Like Wolfenstein taken to a whole new dimension. He had considered leaving, but he also knew that as simulations rather than games, there was a very real chance the software would never become available to the public, or if it did, it would be decades from now. He was already here; he was already close…what was the worst that could happen? He would get thrown out of another building?

He cursed under his breath as he saw the flow of traffic, realising that people were coming down here more regularly. Whatever was going on down here, it seemed it was happening soon because the corridor had gone from virtually empty to being like a human freeway within a matter of minutes. Now he was wondering how he'd ever get out of this…where the hell was he anyway?

He looked around and noticed clothing lined up on racks and shelves. There were machines and chemicals. The laundry. He was in a laundry. He saw a lab coat and a smile crossed his face as he got a crazy idea. He was a huge fan of the Hitman series. Sure, this was real life and not a videogame, but surely the principle would be the same right? It wasn't like a building this large everyone would know everyone. If he was dressed like one of the others and just stayed far enough away from others to not let them get too close a look at him, he could pass a cursory glance as he moved through the building.

After putting on the lab coat and fastening it, he slipped out into the corridor, where he found a trolley which was loaded with some chemicals and electrical components. He took the handle and started top push the trolley when he heard…

"HEY! YOU!" A voice barked behind him. Shit, he'd been busted already? He had completed virtually every level of every Hitman game with the best possible rating. He normally got a lot further than this, even on the highest difficulties with guards that seemed to have supernatural senses. He turned to see a recruit approaching him. "What are you doing here?"

"I…uh…" Devon started to stammer, trying to think of something to say. The cadet started rummaging through the contents of the trolley.

"This is due in the Morphing Lab." The guard instructed him. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Oh…I got turned around." Devon told him. "You know what this place is like, all the corridors look the same."

The cadet just sighed, before gesturing Devon to follow him. Devon breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he was better, or luckier, than he originally believed.

Nate was coming into the computer lab after logging the Rangers' vitals when Commander Shaw entered with Mayor Daniels. She brought him in, letting him see the laboratory.

"As you can see, we are extremely well equipped." She said, panning her arm around the lab. "This is not the most secure area, but rest assured we are showing you things that are not exactly going to be on the tour. This is some of the most advanced and classified technology on the planet."

Mayor Daniels though, wasn't particularly interested in any of that. While he wasn't particularly high up in politics, serving as the mayor of a city did give him some access to restricted materials, albeit not necessarily major matters of National Security. To him, much of the room looked like just computers, but that didn't necessarily mean some of the files ON the computers weren't extremely sensitive. Even simple word documents could be extremely damaging in the wrong hands and contain materials that put lives in danger.

He looked around, and his eyes came to rest on a canister which seemed to house a glowing green liquid. It looked unnervingly beautiful, but at the same time unnatural. There was nothing he had ever seen like it. As he approached it, hairs on his arms and neck started to stand up. He could dimly hear screams in the back of his mind, unnerving him. He could smell burning, ozone…just being this close to it brought back memories he never thought he would relive. He knew even before Commander Shaw told him this was what he was looking for.

"That is Morph-X." She confirmed. "You can pick it up if you like."

Mayor Daniels looked to her uneasily. She just nodded.

"In this state it is perfectly safe to handle." She assured him. He reached out his hand, and every instinct in his body wanted to pull away, but his mind, his heart, willed him on. He picked up the vial, which was about the size of a soda can, holding it up to inspect it. "What you're holding in your hand is enough Morph-X to power this entire city for decades. It is the culmination of over a decade of research and development and it's…"

"The miracle cure to all the world's problems." Mayor Daniels said as he looked to it. He could almost feel the power in it right through the glass and steel. His heart was racing being this close to it. He had felt this power once before, the very air crackled with it on the worst day of his life. He shook his head. "I've heard all the press statements."

"Well, it's everything it promises and so much more." She replied. "Just think, no more fuel shortages. No more blackouts. No more households that need to decide between heating and eating. No more of our children being sent overseas to sacrifice their lives for a few barrels of oil that will be gone in a matter of months only for us to do the same thing all over again. On the day that he perfected the refinement process, Nate sold the patent rights for only one dollar, which he then donated to his local animal shelter."

Commander Shaw looked to it stoically.

"I was sceptical at first too, but I've already seen this do some miraculous things." She told him. "That is what it promises. That is Morph-X."

"In the Morphing Grid it exists as pure energy." Nate said, coming over from his work station, causing Mayor Daniels to turn around and look at him. Instinctively, he clutched the container in both hands, like he feared what he was holding. "But I've refined it into a liquid. You don't need to worry, it's perfectly safe to handle. No fallout like with nuclear fuel, the radiation from it is in no way harmful to any life on this planet. It doesn't react to shock like Nitro Glycerine, you could take a hammer to that container and be in no danger whatsoever."

"So, it's completely safe?" Mayor Daniels asked somewhat derisively. Everyone with even the smallest amount of knowledge of science knew that energy was always dangerous if not directed properly. Lots of energy being released in one place at one time, that's what an explosion was. The day that the equation was discovered for splitting the atom, the scientist involved outright stated he had also created the potential for the atomic bomb.

"Well, if you were to ignite it with a significant source like an explosion or excessive heat you could cause an explosion, but that container you're holding is designed to be able to withstand a hundred pounds of C4."

Commander Shaw sighed and shook her head. She wished Nate hadn't said that. She knew he was understandably proud of his work, and in his mind he was just expressing to Mayor Daniels exactly what she also knew, that if anyone released enough power to cause that Morph-X to explode, then frankly everything in the room would be destroyed, including them, long before it ignited. Still, she felt like all Mayor Daniels heard was the potential for an explosion right there, literally in the palms of his hands.

"This is Nate Silva. Our chief scientist." She introduced him, hoping to get Mayor Daniels to move past this point. He started to approach Nate, who was already on another computer, compiling data related to the Rangers' vitals in the other room. The Morphing Process would go down in a short time. As proud as he was of Morph-X, Nate was eager to see his Rangers for the first time. It was a childhood dream that was finally going to come true.

"Nate Silva, child prodigy." Mayor Daniels responded. He'd spent a lot of time researching all he could about Morph-X, and although the details of Morph-X itself were kept pretty quiet, he had managed to find details of Nate. His name had cropped up in journals and papers many times in his short life. "I've read about you. Came here when you were just six years old."

"When he was ten, he had already found a way to tap into the Rangers' Morphing Grid." Commander Shaw interjected. She understood Mayor Daniels' thoughts, she'd be lying if she didn't say that she had some reservations herself hearing Nate's age, but she'd now been working with him, and acting as somewhat of a surrogate carer for many years now. She knew how remarkable he was. It wasn't like this was a case of an average ten-year-old that found his dad's cigarette lighter, or God forbid, gun. He already understood more about the true dangers of his work before his teens than many people did in the twilight of their careers.

"Which, if my calculations are correct, means we will have unlimited access to the most powerful energy source in the known universe." Nate said proudly.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of!" Mayor Daniels stated rather bluntly, his face becoming stony and cold. Nate just stared to him. He had to defend his work many times, such was the nature of science, especially when he was coming up against people whose fortune and vested interests were intrinsically tied to other forms of energy like oil. He even had to defend against people who had justifiable safety concerns, much like those that had first proposed the use of nuclear energy. However, even he was a little surprised by how personal Mayor Daniels' tone seemed to be.

"It seems that Mayor Daniels believes what we're doing here is a mistake." Commander Shaw told him. Nate saw Mayor Daniels coming towards him.

"A HUGE mistake." He continued. "Since before you were born, every major evil has tried to seize that power for themselves. From Rita Repulsa, to King Mondo. From Olympius to…to Ransik."

He had to compose himself a little on the last one. He could still remember all too clearly the day that had changed his life forever. He approached Nate intently.

"They all wanted to take the Rangers' power and rule the universe." He concluded, holding up the container. "And now that you've wrapped it up, the power to run a city…in the palm of my hand? You've wrapped it up with a ribbon! And now I fear that some evil mind will come and try again, and that you…all of you…will be unable to stop it happening."

"I beg to differ." Commander Shaw said to him. "We haven't just been developing Morph-X. We all understood the very risk you've so eloquently voiced. We've not just been working on this. We've been working on the means to defend it if necessary."

She looked to Nate and nodded to confirm to him that it was alright. Just because Nate had discovered Morph-X in the first place didn't give him the clearance to determine who he was allowed to talk about all his projects with. Commander Shaw had the highest clearance on the base, and could make the decision to divulge classified information if she saw fit.

"It's time I showed you something." She said, gesturing to the door, heading back towards the Ranger technology. "Nate, are our operatives…?"

"Our operatives are secured." He told her. He knew what she meant; she was asking if their identities would be disclosed. Since they were all under the canopies, Nate knew that he wouldn't be able to see who they were.

"Then it's time I showed you something Mr Mayor." She said, gesturing to Mayor Daniels to follow her. Mayor Daniels put down the container of Morph-X, before following her. Once she'd entered her biometric scans and satisfied the security system of her identity, the door slid open.

Mayor Daniels could see that much like the first room, there were several computers, but that was where the similarity ended. In here, there were a lot of other things too, mostly what looked like weapons. A couple of massive devices dominated the room, one which held three platforms set up under some cables, and a bank of what looked like beds, where three people were lying under the cover of some kind of device.

In the corner, where Devon was putting the trolley, he'd been instructed to take it, saw his dad coming in. He knew that while he might have fooled some of the guards, his dad would recognise him straight away. Seeing no way past him to get out the door, instead he looked for somewhere to hide. He found a place behind one of the computers and dived behind it, waiting until he could hopefully slip past unseen.

"What you're about to see is classified." Commander Shaw told him. "Morph-X will do a lot more than power the city and its infrastructure."

"This computer runs the entire system." Nate said proudly, showing him the computer, before heading to the platforms. "When you activate the Morph-X system for the first time, Morph-X will flow through here, combining with animal DNA and mutating our three subjects."

"Mutating? Subjects?" Mayor Daniels asked, beginning to look confused. He looked between the both of them. "What is this? What are you talking about?"

Commander Shaw tapped a few keys on the computer, which asked for a retinal scan. After giving it, she pulled up an image. Mayor Daniels looked to it in disbelief.

"You're creating…Power Rangers?" He asked. She just nodded.

"Rest assured, Mr Mayor, once the system goes active, we will have the most elite force on the planet, backed by weapons technology the likes of which the world has never seen ready to defend it." She assured him. "Nate, perhaps the Mayor would like to see some of the weapons?"

In the corner, Devon just sighed as he saw them begin to give his dad a tour. Never mind the fact he now wasn't going to get to see the simulator, now he was wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this room.


	24. Serpent In The System

There was plenty to do around Grid Battleforce, the launch was now only a short time away. Everyone on the base had been working for this day for some time, some of them for years. While most of them always presumed there would be at least another few months before launch day, having been briefed as such for some time, certain recent events, most notably a leak from within, had spurred the decision to move up the launch date.

Everyone on the base was hard at work, from the highest-ranked officers to the custodial staff. Everyone had believed in the promises that Morph-X had made, believed completely in the brave new world they were offering and wanted to put forward the best face possible for their launch. While the promise of ending pointless, bloody wars over the few remaining drops of oil around the globe, ending the poverty caused by soaring energy costs and the environmental rejuvenation offered by an energy source with no hazardous by-products, they wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Every uniform was clean and pressed, every floor polished and waxed and every inch of the building gleaming.

Zoey went about her duties, doing no less than her fourth run of the building to ensure there wasn't so much as a single rag in any of the laundry baskets. She sincerely doubted the base could generate terribly much laundry in about an hour, but in truth she just wanted to be out where the action was, to soak up some of the excitement of the spectacle.

"Psst." Someone whispered. She had to look around, trying to locate the source. Eventually, she found Ben and Betty a little way off. They were now back in their beige maintenance uniforms. She didn't know if Commander Shaw had them kicked off security detail over the embarrassing incident with Mayor Daniels, if she felt that their assistance would be better used to ensure the building was looking its best or if she just wanted them out from under her feet. Frankly, none of those options was out of the realms of possibility. Betty waved her over frantically. Zoey came over, finding them huddled around a tablet. "Zoey, get over here!"

"Hey guys, what's going on?" She asked.

"We managed to hijack a link to the telecommunications network." Ben told her. "We're tuning in to the local news networks. We wanted to see the launch up close!"

"Uh…you are aware it's just outside the front door, right?" Zoey asked them.

"Yeah, but Commander Shaw told us she didn't want us going to the launch." Betty told her. "She sent someone from security with the order, but she was pretty adamant on the point."

"I believe her exact words were 'If I see you within five hundred feet of the Mayor for the rest of the day, you'll both be spending a month in the stockade.' Can you believe that?"

Zoey managed to suppress a laugh for the sake of her friends, but she could definitely imagine the Commander being a little impatient with them following the incident at the gate. While Ben and Betty were strictly speaking doing their job, they'd been overzealous considering the fact that it was Mayor Daniels, one of the most recognisable faces in Coral Harbour. She could imagine she found the incident a little bit of an embarrassment on a day when they had a whole lot of other things to worry about.

"I still can't believe we're finally here." Betty said with a little squeal. "It's so exciting isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Zoey agreed. "I just wish Nate was able to be up here."

Betty nudged Ben a little and they exchanged a little smirk.

"I mean, he's been working for this for years and he's going to be in the lab and have to watch the re-run later in the day. That doesn't seem right somehow does it?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's really disappointed." Ben replied. "I mean, he's just creating Superheroes downstairs, but I'm sure he'd much rather be up here watching the Channel 6 news."

"Ch..ch…channel 6?" Zoey asked. "Um…I should probably be…"

"No, wait, stay with us!" Betty replied, grabbing her and pulling her in. "Come on Zoey, we're witnessing history here!"

Zoey reluctantly just looked around, before pulling in around the tablet. As much as she was reluctant to listen to one of her mom's reports, hoping that Ben and Betty wouldn't make the connection, she did want to be a part of the day in any way she could.

Down in the lab, Devon waited impatiently for his dad to leave. Commander Shaw and Nate showed him around all of the Rangers' equipment for what seemed like forever. He was starting to get cramp crouching down behind the equipment the way he was. What was taking them so long? Sure, the weapons were cool and all but how much could anyone say about a sword? He did have to think it was neat when he saw Nate apparently teleport one of them across the room, explaining that the Rangers would have instant access to their entire arsenal.

One of the longest-running jokes among video gamers was the phenomenon of the bottomless inventory. It was an area in game design where ease of gameplay gave way to some artistic licence to reality. Often video game characters would have access to every item and weapon they had ever picked up at all times regardless of whether or not it was feasible any person could actually carry so much. Some games were worse offenders than others, with literally any weapon or item being available at any time, but others did make a point of having a carrying limit meaning that players might have to choose what to take with them before embarking on a mission.

Still, it was rather amusing to think that even in some games that enforced this, some of the carrying limits could get quite ridiculous. After all, it wasn't uncommon for a videogame character to be able to carry about a hundred medical packs, thousands of rounds of ammunition, four or five full-size weapons and more currency than any sane person would ever carry on their person. With this system, the Rangers would literally carry their entire arsenal around at all times.

He breathed a sigh of relief as his dad's aide finally reminded him the ceremony was about to start and escorted him from the room. He decided to wait a little while, to make sure his dad was well on his way out of the building, before making his move. By now he had abandoned any thought of seeing the simulator and just wanted to get the hell out of the building before anyone saw him.

He took a moment to look around at the weapons and equipment they had, thinking that most of them looked a lot like they belonged in one of his beloved games. He did wonder what it would be like to get to use some of them, get to try them out. Unfortunately, he dawdled a little too long, because Nate and the Commander returned to collect the Rangers. He saw Nate and Commander Shaw approaching the pods, opening them up.

"Alright, don't move too quickly, you might still be a little woozy." Nate warned them, offering Roxy some water. "Here, take some of this." Devon knew he was now in some pretty deep trouble if he got discovered. Commander Shaw hadn't even let his dad know the identity of the Rangers. He wasn't too interested, but he doubted if they were this desperate to make sure the Rangers identities weren't known outside of Grid Battleforce, they'd be too happy to see someone skulking about. He was looking for a way to leave, when he saw their faces and memories of the encounter at the gym came flooding back to him.

"No way, them?" He asked, recognising the three Ranger candidates. Now he had a whole new problem. It wasn't just his dad that would recognise him. If he kept his distance the odds were Nate and Commander Shaw wouldn't know him from Adam, especially since he was still dressed as a lab assistant, but there was a possibility the Rangers would. He saw that they all did look a little wobbly and everyone was focused on them so it seemed like a good time to leave.

He was keeping to the edge of the room, trying not to attract attention when one of the monitors caught his attention. It looked at first like it was just running lines of code, but then that code started to swirl up and form into some kind of shape. He was drawn to it, curious. Just as he was almost face-to-face with the screen, he saw the face of a huge, hooded serpent seeming to leap out at him. It startled him so much he leapt back and slammed into some shelves, scattering things on the floor. Everyone suddenly stared straight at him, attracted by all the commotion.

"Who in the…?" Commander Shaw started to ask, looking to see someone in a lab outfit peeling himself off the floor. She didn't know what had caused the commotion, or the accident, but she was already on edge given the importance of the day. She stared straight at him and could only note the expression on his face looked like a deer caught in headlights, like he didn't belong. She couldn't see a clearance badge pinned to his lab coat. "Show me your clearance badge!"

"I…um…uh…" Devon started to stammer. Right now, he was really wishing real life had dialogue options presented on the screen. He'd played enough RPG's to know that when in a situation like this, there was often something a player could say to the guard to allay suspicion and get by without a fight, but it was quite different when he didn't have the option of a couple of selections, some of which were blatantly wrong. "I…have it in my pocket?"

He rolled his own eyes hearing that come out of his mouth. He didn't have anything of the kind, and it would only be seconds before he'd be discovered. Nate looked him up and down.

"Hey, why aren't you wearing safety shoes?" Nate asked him. "Trainers are strictly forbidden in the lab!"

Devon knew he was rumbled and made a dash for the door. Unfortunately, before he was anywhere near there, he was slammed against the wall, before being thrown to the ground. Ravi was now kneeling on top of him, twisting his arm up his back painfully.

"Let go of me!" Devon grunted.

"Hey, I know him, he doesn't work here!" Blaze called out, finally getting a good look at Devon. "That's the mayor's son!"

"Excuse me?" Commander Shaw asked, looking to him judgementally as a couple of security guards came in. Ravi turned him over to their custody, where they held him in place tightly. Devon realised that the situation was now completely hopeless. Even if he did somehow get out of their grip, even if he somehow escaped the room, there were going to be a whole lot of armed guards between him and the door, and even if by some miracle he did manage to get out, Blaze had now confirmed his identity. He wouldn't be able to go home because they would know where he lived. He figured now if anything was going to work, it was going to be the truth. Hell, it wasn't like he had any other dialogue options right now.

"I'm sorry, my dad said he had a meeting here and…and I just wanted to try out the simulator and…"

"We don't have time for this right now." Ravi reminded his mom. "We're about to go live any minute."

"Hold him in detention!" Commander Shaw ordered, pointing to the door. Right now, she didn't know what her options were either. She had everyone on the base well warned about what would happen to them if classified information was leaked. If it was anyone else, she'd have no issue whatsoever sending them to a stockade where they would likely be held for many years as a threat to the nation, but she'd just spent the whole afternoon trying to appease the mayor. If Blaze was right about this kid's identity then it would put her in a very difficult position to just throw him into a deep, dark hole with no trial. She needed time to think, to figure out how much he knew and more importantly, to get advice on what to do once she did know how much he had seen and heard. As they were dragging Devon away, he started to protest.

"WAIT!" He called out. "There's something in your computer network! A virus maybe!" He warned them. "I'm telling you; I saw an avatar; it was some totally creepy snake!"

Everyone just stared at him, completely confused. They didn't doubt he'd be willing to try just about anything to get away right now, but up until he panicked and bumped into the shelves, none of them had even noticed he was there. Something had startled him, otherwise he would have gotten away most likely.

"It moved in the system like it was alive!" Devon continued. "You have to believe me!"

"The firewall is up; nothing can get into the system." Nate assured him.

"But it's already IN the system, I saw it!" Devon reiterated.

"We don't have time for this. Take him away!" Commander Shaw ordered, before turning to Nate, who was by his computer. She approached him, making sure the Rangers couldn't hear. They were all still getting ready for the transformation and the last things he wanted was for them to worry about anything. "Nate, I want you to run a full system scan."

"But there's not much time…"

"Then do it quickly." She told him. "It's better to be safe than sorry." Nate looked between her and Devon, who was getting dragged out of the room. He just sighed.

"Agreed." He replied, beginning a scan. "It'll be tight, but I should have a full scan done before the download."

"Good." She answered. "Now, if you've all got this under control, I have to attend the ceremony."

She turned to the Rangers and smiled.

"By the time I return, you'll be our new Rangers." She reminded them. "May the Power protect you."

Outside the building, the ceremony was beginning. Commander Shaw got out just in time, quietly making her way to her seat as Mayor Daniels was announced to make his inaugural speech. She was glad that right now he didn't know his son was currently in a holding cell. She somehow doubted that he'd be too eager to begin the process when he found that out. She still had no idea what she was going to do about Devon, but she imagined she would have to involve General Burke as her direct superior, as well as Mayor Daniels at some point. She took a deep breath and tried to put it out of her mind for now while the ceremony got underway. Mayor Daniels was applauded as he took the podium.

"For too long, we've been reliant on fossil fuels, an energy source that was not only a finite resource, but also greatly damaged the Earth." He announced. He still had some reservations about the whole thing, but he was satisfied that Grid Battleforce had already prepared for the eventuality that threats would come to the city. It still felt a lot like tempting fate to have something so appealing right in their own back yard, but he also knew that sooner or later the system had to change. He had wrestled with the decision back and forth, but for now he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. "Today, we tap into a new, infinite, affordable, clean source of energy that will revolutionise the world. And once our city proves it is safe, the rest of the world will follow in our footsteps. Citizens of Coral Harbour, the future has arrived, and the future is Morph-X!"

Down in the lab, Nate and his team were preparing for the first transformation. The systems started to kick in as Mayor Daniels threw the switch, activating the tower for the first time.

"Nate, the tower is active." Commander Shaw told him over the communicator. "All systems go."

"Morph-X entering the system." One of Nate's assistants confirmed. "It looks like everything is good to go."

"Activating the morphing sequence, now." Nate said as he punched a few keys on his keyboard. Blaze, Roxy and Ravi all stood, waiting on the system to begin their transformation. Morph-X flooded into the machinery above them, while a field came down, holding them in place. A warm, pleasant sensation started to flow through them, and they could already feel themselves becoming stronger, becoming something more than they already were.

"Phenomenal! It's working!" Nate said as he watched the display. "The process is already seventy percent comp…"

Unfortunately, he was interrupted as an alarm started to sound and warnings flashed up all over his screens. He started to tap keys trying to figure out what was going on.

Inside the pods, the three Rangers started to convulse, and tensed up. He could see pained expressions on their faces, like they were being tortured by whatever this was.

"Nate, what's going on down there?" Commander Shaw called out over the communicator.

"I don't know! The system just started…" He tailed off as he saw a hooded snake appearing on his screen, just like the one Devon had described. An evil laugh emanated from his computer. "Commander Shaw, something's in our system! Something's corrupting the sequence!"

"Shut it down!" She told him.

"I'm trying, but…but I'm locked out!" Nate told her. The serpent on the screen seemed to stare directly at Nate and the others as they looked on in horror.

"I am Evox!" It told them. "The time of humanity is at an end! The Morphing Grid will be mine!"

"Nate, what do we do?" One of the assistants yelled. Nate looked around in horror, trying to size up his options. He couldn't do anything with the computer, he was already locked out. The transformation had already begun. He could see on the display that the three Rangers were still being transformed, but into what he had no idea. Interrupting the transfer now would leave them only partially changed, and he had no clue what harm that could do to them.

"Nate, we need to do something!" One of his assistants called out. Nate just froze, unable to think of what to do next. Just then, sparks started to fly and energy arced to the other systems.

"Initiate a full evacuation!" Nate told them. "You go!"

"But…"

"GO!" Nate yelled at them. He didn't know what, if anything, he could do, but he wasn't about to risk the rest of his team. He knew that it was a long-standing tradition that the captain had to remain with the ship until everyone was safe, and for him…that meant he had to stay behind. The other lab assistants ran out as Nate activated the evacuation alarm.

By the holding cells, Devon could hear the alarm and see the staff beginning to flee the building. He was relieved when the doors opened up, allowing him to escape. Clearly Grid Battleforce valued lives over keeping prisoners. He had no doubt they'd look to round him up eventually but at least it meant he had a shot of getting out.

He left the cell and started to run around the corridors, until he hit on one problem.

"Where the hell's the way out?" He asked.

In another part of the base, Ben, Betty and Zoey were watching the ceremony on the tablet when they heard the evacuation sound.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" Ben yelled.

"Wait, what if there are others still down there?" Zoey asked. "I've not seen anyone pass us!"

"But…"

"Guys, I…I have to go!" Zoey yelled as she ran off. She could see others running the opposite way, and was satisfied people were leaving, but it didn't help that she didn't see Ravi, Roxy or Nate. Whatever was happening, it looked like they hadn't managed to leave yet. She wasn't going to leave without them!

Back in the lab, Nate tried everything he could think of in a desperate attempt to stop the morphing sequence, but everything he tried, it seemed like Evox had planned for well in advance. He saw the first of the neural aligners, the Cheetah pod, had registered a 100 percent completion. He looked up to it, watching as the energy started to surge down through Blaze.

Within moments, he saw Blaze slumping down, falling lifelessly to the floor, but standing in his place was another figure. It was dressed in what looked like a corrupted, warped form of the Ranger suit he had created for the Red Ranger, covered in angular armoured plates. The figure had Blaze's face, and was holding a helmet under its arm. It stepped out of the pod, flashing in and out of existence, glitching like a corrupted computer program. It just smirked at him.

"Whatever you are, stay back!" Nate warned him. The figure put on its helmet without a word, before rushing across the room, punching Nate and sending him flying into a wall, where he slid down and slumped to the floor unconscious.

"Thank you for creating me." The avatar stated, before turning back to the pods. "And soon, my team will join me!"

Outside the room, Zoey was running down the corridor, heading towards the lab. She almost bumped into someone she didn't recognise. He wasn't dressed like he belonged.

"Uh…are you security?" He asked her.

"Not exactly, I work in the laundry." She corrected him. "You?"

"Not exactly, just trespassing." He replied honestly. Zoey saw Nate lying on the floor and shoved Devon aside. As the door was coming down, she dove and rolled under it. Devon followed her, before finding himself trapped in the lab along with her.

"Ah, if it isn't the laundry girl and the mayor's brat!" Blaze said derisively as he turned to see them coming in the door. Zoey just saw Blaze's body lying on the floor, along with Ravi and Roxy still writing in agony in their own pods.

"Who are you?" Zoey asked. "What did you do to them?"

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about what's going to happen to you." He replied. Just then, there was another flash, and Zoey watched in horror as Roxy's body fell to the floor lifelessly. In her place, an avatar stood, carrying its helmet, she could see the face of her best friend as she strode out of the pod, coming towards her.

"Roxy?" She asked in horror.

"Something like that." She answered as she pulled on her helmet. "We avatars serve Evox now!"

"Evox?" Devon asked. "That must be what I saw in the computer!"

"Well, you're smarter than I thought." Blaze responded arrogantly, before pointing to the pod. "And one more will join us."

"Not if I can help it!" Devon called out, grabbing a blaster off one of the racks. He fired it at the pod, severing one of the cables that was transferring power into it. Ravi flopped to his knees, alive but clearly disorientated. Roxy pulled out a blaster and started firing, blasting the gun out of Devon's hand, before forcing Zoey and Devon to rush into cover.

"They interrupted the sequence!" She rushed out. "The third avatar…"

"We can rectify that soon enough." Blaze interrupted her, seeing the others hiding from them. He started to laugh. "What do you say Roxy? How about we have a little fun?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." She responded, putting her blaster away.


	25. Rise of the Avatars

Commander Shaw could only take to the stage as the entire staff of the base started to evacuate the building. The alarms and the fact the building was steadily emptying were not exactly the first impression she was hoping for during the inaugural launch of the Morph-X system to say the least. The press was clamouring to try and see if they could see inside the building, but were being held back by security. Mayor Daniels was still at the podium, looking genuinely concerned.

"What the devil is happening?" He demanded as she got to the stage.

"It's…it's a minor problem, I'm quite sure." She said as confidently, but with as little commitment to detail as she could muster. Sadly, she was no stranger to public relations. She'd been an officer now for many years, and sadly a significant part of the job was getting inquiries by the press. Like any institution, the Armed Forces were prone to scrutiny, speculation and complaints. Unlike most however, the nature of their existence meant they carried with them a lot of responsibility to the public trust. She still wasn't completely clear on what was going on herself, all she knew was that something had happened when Nate began the process to morph the Rangers for the first time. There was little point in trying to engage in details, partly because she simply didn't have them to share, and partly because right now she didn't know if the evacuation was just a precaution or if something more serious had happened. She took the microphone. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there appears to have been an unforeseen complication with the system. Please try to remain calm, our team is working to find the cause as we speak."

The press started to crowd, trying to get her to say more, but Commander Shaw knew much better than to say more than she absolutely needed to until she knew what was going on herself.

"Commander Shaw…

"Mr Mayor, it is standard procedure for non-essential personnel to be evacuated if the alarm system is triggered." She told him. "I'm perfectly certain my team is working on this as we speak. Now, if you could please step behind the cordon, I'm sure we'll have this under control soon."

"I certainly hope so." Mayor Daniels told her.

He didn't need to say anything further for her to realise the gravity of the situation. She got onto her communicator once he was out of earshot.

"Commander Shaw to control room, come in." She called out. It worried her that no one was quick to answer. "COME IN!"

Down in the lab, Ravi was starting to stir and come around. Every inch of his body ached, like he'd been given the hardest workout of his life. He could recall the blinding light and the searing agony as energy raced through him, but shortly after that his vision just blacked out.

Though his head was still fuzzy, and his vision and his hearing were still struggling to catch up, he could make out very distinctive sounds of combat. He could hear a faint voice; it was coming from…his wrist. His communicator.

"This is Commander Shaw, come in!" She called out. He considered answering, but as he saw the two armoured assailants, laying waste to the lab as they fought with two people he was struggling to recognise, he figured that his priority was to the immediate threat. One of the armoured beings was attacking a woman who was wearing a Grid Battleforce uniform…that answered one question, which side he was on!

He could see Zoey wrestling with Roxy a little way off, while Devon was being battered from pillar to post by Blaze. He had read the schematics and knew that the Ranger rigs, together with the genetic enhancements, boosted the physical attributes of the users beyond the range of human potential. Given the fact that the Ranger program had been designed to weed out the very best, those that were already at the peak of their abilities, that meant that Zoey and Devon were hopelessly outmatched. They were holding their own, but that was to say that they were able to avoid being killed within the first few seconds.

"Ravi!" Nate called out, starting to pull himself out of some rubble. "Ravi, help the others!"

"Nate, what the hell is going on?" Ravi asked in response.

"No time to explain, just…help them!" Nate replied. Ravi just nodded, and broke cover to run in to help Devon, seeing that he was in most need of the help.

Nate rummaged around, trying desperately to see if any of his equipment worked and to see if he could find out what was going on. He knew that this virus, Evox, had entered his system, but he still didn't know what it was or how it was progressing. Finding one of the computers still active, he checked for it.

"It's still in…that computer!" Nate said as he looked around the room. Evox seemed to be concentrating on the battle at hand, and hadn't sought to upload himself to other systems. It was the first lucky break Nate could see. If he uploaded himself to a system with access to the internet, then there'd be no stopping him from going pretty much anywhere. It would be impossible to contain him.

He picked up a blaster and started to fire in the direction of the computer, aiming for the cables. He managed to blast them, severing them, meaning that for now at least Evox was going nowhere. The avatars could link him back up once they were finished with the others, but at least it bought them a couple of minutes.

He turned his attention back to the fight, hoping that he hadn't sacrificed the others while he was trying to trap Evox. They were all still in the fight, but it was clear that the avatars simply were far too powerful. He furrowed his brows as he watched them, noticing something odd.

"They have access to their weapons…why aren't they using them?" He asked himself. He watched as Blaze kicked Devon across the room, where he skidded straight into the wall.

"You really don't learn your lesson, do you?" He said in a mocking laugh as he started to walk towards him, gesturing to him to get up. "Are you done? I was just starting to have fun!"

He looked over to where Roxy was grappling with Zoey, slamming her into a table repeatedly. It then became clear to him; they were toying with them! It was like they were enjoying playing with the Rangers. If they wanted, they could easily finish them. Did they still have elements of the personality of the people they replicated? If they were simply machines or computer programs, they would have fought in the most efficient way possible, but right now they were far more interested in hurting and humiliating his friends.

His mind raced as he tried to think of ways to turn the battle. There was little in the room he could think of that would be effective against the avatars. Most of the weapons racks had been obliterated in the earlier blasts. He watched in horror as Roxy's avatar fired out cables, which wrapped around the others, binding them and then started to throw them around the room. There was no way they could take this much longer. That was when he saw the pods. They were still intact. He checked the system and saw they were still active. It was a desperate plan, but if he could just power them…

"Commander Shaw, this is Nate!" He called through. "I need your authorisation to access the Morph-X tower." He told her.

"Nate, what's going on?" She asked him.

"I need you to flood Morph-X through the transformation pods!" He told her.

"You want me to do what?" She called back. "Nate, what are you…?"

"I don't have time to explain! You'll need to trust me!" He told her. This was enough for her, she had always trusted Nate implicitly when it came to the technical aspects of the base. She input her authorisation code.

"I'm beginning the dump now." She told him. "That's enough Morph-X to turn the whole city into a crater. I really hope you know what you're doing!"

"So do I." He whispered, being sure not to broadcast that part. He saw Roxy slamming them all into the floor, before whipping them towards the pods. He doubted he'd have a better opportunity. Blasting a piece of machinery above them, it came down, severing the cables and causing Zoey, Devon and Ravi to tumble into the pods. Fearing he probably wouldn't get a better opportunity, he punched in the final commands and started up the pods.

Inside, Devon felt himself being held in place by an unseen force, before a wave of warm energy flowed through him. He could feel every muscle in his body pulling taut, and stretching, though not painfully. Like a tremendous workout, but so much more. He could almost swear he could feel every fibre of his being stretching and growing, getting stronger with each passing moment. There was a flash of blinding light, and when he was finally able to see again, he could see but not as before. He was looking through some kind of visor, and there was text coming up, like a heads-up display in one of his first-person shooters. He stumbled a little, trying to get his orientation.

"What…what just happened?" He asked as he tried to make sense of it all.

"Don't look now but…you're the Red Ranger!" Zoey announced. Devon looked down to himself, seeing that he was now in a red bodysuit. He stared at his hands, which he brought to his head, running them over a helmet.

"This is…this is wild!" He commented.

"NATE!" Zoey called out, seeing that Roxy going after Nate. She pushed off, hoping to get to him before she could strike, but she was startled as without warning, she and Roxy were slamming into the wall at the opposite side of the lab. She turned around to see that she had somehow leapt over twenty feet without even realising it. "Wow…OK, this is something else!"

Devon saw Blaze turning back towards him, and started to run towards him, but before he even knew what was happening he was on the opposite side of the room, and Blaze had turned a full back-somersault as a result of the attack Devon had hit him with on the way. He smiled.

"Guys, I think the odds on the good guys just looked up!" Devon stated.

"That's what you think!" Blaze replied as he got up, summoning a sword to his hand. He rushed at Devon, catching him completely flat-footed, slicing across his chest. Sparks flew as the suits power prevented Blaze from cutting him clean in half, doubtlessly sparing his life. As Ravi rushed in to stop him pressing the advantage, Devon took a moment to take stock. He could see that even with their new power, Roxy and Blaze were dangerous opponents.

"This lab, we're too hemmed-in." Devon commented.

"The door's sealed. The others will have to release us from outside." Nate told him.

"Listen, we need some space or we're all just going to tear each other apart!" Devon responded. That was when he noticed something on the floor. He picked it up, inspecting it. While he hadn't been paying too much attention, he did remember Nate explaining to his dad how transport modules could teleport the Rangers' equipment to them, demonstrating it by teleporting a sword into his hand. He looked to Nate. "Do these only transport the weapons or can they transport other things too?"

"What?" Nate asked.

"Look, sometimes it's best to just run out on a boss fight, to leave the fight area and come back once you've levelled up!" Devon said. Nate just stared at him blankly. "We need space, can these things get us out of here?"

"Yes, but if those avatars link the supercomputer up to the net then there'll be nothing to stop Evox from uploading himself to the internet. He'll have unlimited space to hide in, there'll be no way to stop him!" Nate replied, before a thought came to him. "But…what if we didn't send ourselves out? What if we sent them out instead?"

"That could work." Devon responded. "OK, what do we do?"

"I'll program in a location. Anywhere will do as long as it's not anywhere near here!" Nate told him. "You and the others just need to set up three of these around the room to transport that computer and the avatars out of here."

"Alright, on it!" Devon responded. He grabbed one of the transport units and ran to the other side of the room, setting it up near a wall while Nate worked on a location. "YELLOW! I'll take your dance partner, set up another one of these over there!"

Zoey had no idea what Devon was doing, but she had seen him talking to Nate, and she trusted that he knew what he was doing at least. As he rushed over, forcing Roxy to defend herself, Zoey looked around and saw another transport unit. She leapt over to it, before leaping into the air, catching some rigging high above them. She started to set it up.

"I'm all set over here!" Zoey. She positioned herself on the scaffold. "RAVI! DUCK!"

She leapt straight towards Blaze, sacrificing herself as Ravi ducked, letting her slam head-first right into them, scattering both of them on the floor. Ravi picked up another transport unit and seeing what the others had been doing, he held it in place, positioning it to face them.

Devon ducked under Roxy's attack and rushed, grabbing Zoey and dragging her to safety, inelegantly rolling to the relative safety of the side of the room.

"Alright, hit it NOW!" He called out. Nate fired up the transporters, which blasted Roxy, Devon and the computer. In a flash of light, they all disappeared, leaving the lab in ruins. Devon, Zoey, Ravi and Nate all finally got up, looking around.

"Well, that was…something." Devon said breathlessly.

"We're alive." Zoey reminded him. "For now, I say we take that as a win. Nate, where did you send them to?"

"I sent them to another dimension." Nate explained. "I wanted to give us as much time and space before they returned as possible."

He looked regretfully to the computer, which was now smoking and badly damaged from the blast.

"Sadly, I didn't note down the co-ordinates." He told them. "Without that computer and without the co-ordinates, we can't pursue them."

"Right now, pursuing them is the last thing on my mind." Devon assured them, heading to the door and finding it still firmly sealed shut.

Ravi went over to where Roxy's lifeless body was still lying on the ground, de-morphing as he went. He started to check over her frantically, trying to revive her.

"Roxy?" He asked. "Roxy, can you hear me?"

She didn't respond.

"Nate, I can't bring her round!" Ravi called out. Nate checked on her, before getting onto his communicator.

"Commander Shaw, the situation in the lab is now contained." He told her. "Bring an emergency medical team."

"Nate, what happened?" She asked him. He just let out a long, deep breath.

"I…think it's best I explain in person." He told her. "It's a little difficult."

"A security team and a medical unit will be with you shortly." She told him. "Hold tight."

Zoey de-morphed and went to Ravi's side, putting a hand on his shoulder as he cradled Roxy in his arms. Devon went over to where Nate was standing.

"Um…while we're waiting." He said as he looked to his morpher. "As cool as these suits are? How in the hell do you get them off?"

About an hour later, the Rangers were in the infirmary with Commander Shaw. It had taken quite some time for them to explain what had happened in the lab. Mainly because there were still a lot of questions no one knew the answer to. They knew Evox was a virus, but they had no idea where it had come from. All they knew was that it was seeking to take over the Morphing Grid and claim the power of Morph-X for itself.

The tech team was still trying to decide what they could salvage from the wreckage of the battle, but that wasn't the main concern right now. They were in the infirmary by some life-support pods where Roxy and Blaze had been placed to monitor them.

The medics had tried everything they could to revive them, but nothing worked, and they were quickly running out of ideas that wouldn't potentially risk their lives. They were in kind of a strange limbo it seemed, where they were alive and their vitals were steady but there was nothing that could rouse them or get any kind of reaction out of them. Nate was now scanning their brain functions to see if he could find any answers.

"They're alive." He told them as he finished with his analysis. "Their higher brain functions are completely unimpaired, there's no sign of damage but their readings register as though they're in a deep sleep."

"They're just sleeping?" Zoey asked him. "Is she…are they…in pain?" He just shook his head.

"As near as I can tell they're both perfectly healthy otherwise, but they're just asleep." Nate explained.

"Then what about those things we fought?" Devon asked. "I mean, without the helmets they looked just like them. And I don't know Roxy but Blaze? That kind of seemed a lot like the guy I fought at the gym."

"Well, it was but…it wasn't at the same time." Zoey said, trying to reason it out in her mind. "Blaze is…not the greatest of people in the world, but it's not like he's ever outright tried to murder anyone before."

"That's not what it felt like at the gym." Devon sighed, before looking to them. "Yeah, I get what you mean. He kicked my ass, but he was happy to just beat the shit out of me. He wasn't trying to kill me or anything."

"It's kind of like someone took the worst parts of them and kind of turned the dial up all the way." Zoey concluded. Nate nodded in agreement.

"They're avatars." He explained. "I managed to get a little data from the recordings in the lab. They're not biological creatures, but digital copies of Blaze and Roxy that seemed to be based at least in part on their own psyche. It looks as if Evox has taken the parts of their minds that are most useful to him and exaggerated them."

Ravi was sitting by Roxy's pod, and could only look in on her. Commander Shaw wished she could do something to comfort him.

"They also seem to be connected to their brain waves." Nate told them. "Which means as long as the avatars are around, Blaze and Roxy will never wake up."

"So, the only way to wake them up is to destroy their avatars?" Devon asked him. Nate just nodded to confirm the detail. Commander Shaw just ran a hand over her face.

"I need to figure out what I'm going to tell their families." She sighed. "But in the meantime, there's another issue we need to figure out."

She looked to the Rangers, and then to Nate.

"So, you made new Rangers." She asked.

"I couldn't see any other way to defeat the avatars." Nate told her. "We needed the power of Rangers to defeat them."

Commander Shaw understood why he had done it, but that did leave them with something of a situation. Ravi had been selected and fully trained as a Ranger, but Devon and Zoey…they had basically just been in the right place at the right time. She stood before Zoey, who felt a little self-conscious. It wasn't so long ago that Commander Shaw had personally cut her from the program. She then went and stood before Devon. All she knew about him was that he was Mayor Daniel's son. She had no idea what, if any credentials or skills he had that would make him a suitable Ranger.

"Would I be correct in saying that now they have been altered, the process can't be undone?" She asked Nate. He just nodded. "Well, I guess that leaves us with very little choice then."

She stood before Zoey and looked into her eyes. Zoey gulped.

"It's not often we get a second chance." She began. "But I know that you'll all but kill yourself to make the most of it now you have it."

"Roxy…Roxy should be here to protect the city." Zoey told her. "But until she is, I'll serve in her place."

She then went to Devon.

"As for you, young man, you've stumbled into something that quite literally puts the world at stake." She began. "You are privy to one of the most closely guarded secrets on the planet, and you've been granted amazing power completely by chance."

"Well, this day sure as hell didn't turn out the way I expected when I woke up this morning." Devon agreed with a little bit of a chuckle. "I just wanted a shot of your simulator."

Zoey snorted a little as she struggled not to laugh. Commander Shaw shot her a glare, before looking back to Devon.

"This isn't a joke." She told him. "This is one of the most important responsibilities there is. You will have the lives of everyone in the city, perhaps even the whole world in your hands. If you don't think you can handle that, you need to tell us now."

"I'm sorry Commander." Devon replied, before looking to the others. "I might not have signed up for this, but…what I saw today is the kind of thing you can't unsee. Those things are coming back, and when they do, someone needs to be there to stop them. I'm in."


	26. The Cyber Dimension

There was a swirling vortex of light, a complete assault of the senses before Blaze, Roxy and the supercomputer finally landed with a thud. Roxy sat up, stroking the side of her head.

"What was that?" Blaze asked as he got to his knees, starting to look around. "Where the hell are we?"

"I caught a glimpse; it wasn't one of the weapons they hit us with. It was the transporters." Roxy muttered. "As for where we are? Uh…your guess is as good as mine."

Looking around, they were in some kind of waste land. They were surrounded by red sands and rock as far as they eye could see. The sky was varying shades of purple, yellow and other highly unnatural colours that suggested either the environment was extremely polluted. The exact spot where they had landed had some unmistakable walls, smooth by comparison to the cliffs and ground, but angular and made of shaped brick that had been put together with some kind of cement. Although the walls had long since been smashed or blasted by something and were crumbling, and the rubble beneath them looked a lot like what was left of the building, it was clear that at one time there had been buildings here.

"There's someone here." Roxy told him. "Or…there was at least. Looks like whoever was here is long gone."

"Master Evox!" Blaze called out as he turned his attention to the super computer. He ran to it, checking over it in a hurry. "He was in here! If it's been wrecked…"

"Calm down, he'll be fine!" She muttered as she got up, dusting herself off. "That's a supercomputer that was built in the basement of a military base, it's been built to survive direct attacks from WMD's and…hey, these outfits are…nice!"

She started to admire her new outfit. It was much like her old uniform, but with the exception of her yellow accents, it was now completely black.

"You know, being on this side has its perks." She stated. "These definitely look better than those things Grid Battleforce made us wear."

"Will you focus please?" Blaze snapped.

"Calm down, will you?" She asked. "We're avatars! We don't need to eat; we don't even need to breathe. It's not like we're going to die out here so it's not like we're in much of a hurry, so we can take a few minutes to figure out where we are and what we're going to do."

"We're not going anywhere if Evox…"

She leaned over, checking the computer and smiled.

"It's still on." She told him. "Look, a couple of barrels of Morph-X were caught in the wave, we've got enough here to power the computer for centuries. Evox is going to be just fine."

"Which is more than I can say for YOU!" They heard a screeching voice calling out. They spun around, finding a robot stepping out of hiding, coming towards them.

"OK, so it seems someone else is here." Blaze commented.

"You're in the Cyber Dimension! Which is MY Domain!" The robot declared as he stood before them. "I am the mighty Scrozzle! Head of secret weapons research for King Mondo!"

"King Mondo?" Roxy asked, looking to Blaze, who just looked back at her. They had both heard the name, part of their training was extensive historical research on previous Ranger teams and their enemies.

"King Mondo, ruler of the Machine Empire! The one who will no doubt rule the universe!" Scrozzle told them. "He sent me here to work on some secret projects for him and…"

He suddenly stopped as Blaze and Roxy doubled over, laughing out loud at him.

"What? How dare you! You dare to laugh at The Machine Empire?" He screamed.

"Dude, the Machine Empire was destroyed in '98." Blaze chuckled. "King Mondo is spare parts. Your 'King' has been toast for over 20 years!"

"YOU LIE!" He screamed at them.

"Tell me, have you received orders from him lately?" Roxy teased the robot. "Like…for the last 20 years or so?"

"He…he said he would contact me to check on my progress and request my help when he needed me." Scrozzle told them.

"Well, you'll be waiting on that call for a while." Roxy replied dismissively, before looking to Blaze and smirking. "How sad. He's just sitting here waiting for orders that'll never come for a war that ended and no one thought to tell him about."

"You will NOT mock me you foolish avatars!" He yelled at them. That caught their attention. They both stared at him.

"You know we're…?"

"Yes, I know you're avatars. No way any human would dare to come here!" He announced, before raising a hand. "Now, how about I show you about a little upgrade I threw together in my spare time? TRONICS!"

With that, some robots appeared in a flash of light around him. They were purple and black, with silver heads, and all of them were armed. They positioned themselves to attack Blaze and Roxy, but he held a hand across to indicate to them to wait.

"I'm in charge here, and you may yet prove to be of some use. To send a message to Earth." He told them. "Bow down to me…"

An evil laugh emanated from the super computer, silencing them all, before Evox emerged. It seemed he'd heard enough of this exchange and decided to make his presence known. He dismissively blasted down the Tronics with ease, at which Scrozzle fell to his knees, snivelling and begging for mercy. Blaze and Roxy both relaxed their stance and smirked.

"Well, so much for the ruler of the Cyber Dimension." Blaze sneered.

"You will bow down to ME!" Evox roared as Scrozzle begged for his existence. "I must get out of this dimension NOW!"

"I can help you! I have a teleporter here but…uh…" He stammered. "It's out of power. Sorry."

Blaze just leaned over to Roxy.

"So, he has all these weapons that he's been working on for 20 years but King Mondo left him no way to send them to him?" Blaze asked. "You starting to get the impression that his being sent here wasn't exactly a research sabbatical?"

"You need power?" Roxy asked, heading over to some barrels of Morph-X. She took a small container and showed it to him. "How about this? Pure, refined Morphing Grid Energy."

"Pure Morphing Energy?" He asked, snatching it from her like a survivor of a shipwreck desperately snatching food. He looked to it longingly, like he hadn't seen any power source like it in years. "How did you get this?"

"The place we came from is full of it!" Evox told him, launching a beam into Scrozzle's head. He downloaded data from the years he had missed on Earth, showing him all about the defeat of the Machine Empire, the years in between, and the development of the Morph-X technology.

"My…My King…he is truly gone?" Scrozzle asked him.

"Help us, and not only will you have all the Morph-X you could ever want, but you can exact revenge on those who destroyed him."

"This is not nearly enough to send someone of your might through to the real world." Scrozzle told him, before looking to Blaze and Roxy. "But it should be enough for robots…or avatars."

Evox turned his attention to Blaze and Roxy.

"I must return! Return with this creature to Earth's dimension and retrieve enough Morph-X to send me back to Earth." He ordered them. "Do not fail!"

On Earth, Ravi was sitting by Roxy's life-support pod. He was always an early riser, but after the chaos of the previous day, the last thing on his mind was training.

He was a Ranger, the Blue Ranger. That was the only thing that had gone to plan. They still were largely in the dark about what exactly had happened. All they knew was that a being, a virus called 'Evox' had infected the system and created avatars of Roxy and Blaze, putting both of them into comas in the process. They knew Evox wanted Morph-X, and they knew he wanted to take control of Earth, but beyond that they were completely clueless. Where had he come from? Was he working alone? What ultimately did he want?

He didn't know how long he had been sitting by Roxy's pod. It could have been the whole night for all he knew. Looking on her, his heart aching for the woman he loved, he could only think of the last thing he had said to her. How their last words, possibly the last words they would ever say to each other, had been to tell her that he would not defy Grid Battleforce's rules about them being together. It devastated him to think that she might perish never knowing that he was more than willing to give it all up if it meant getting her back.

He was so focused on Roxy, he didn't notice as Commander Shaw came to the door, before pulling back when she saw him. She listened in from the edge of the door.

"I drove us apart. I'm so sorry Roxy." He lamented. "I'd give anything to have you back. I don't know how, but I promise…I will bring you back. Even if you can never forgive me."

Commander Shaw felt a tear rolling down her face. Her heart broke for her son. She had been the cause of his agony. She saw how miserable the other cadets made him with their accusations of nepotism. She saw how he fought every day to try and prove himself in a fruitless battle to gain the respect of those that would never give it. She had only instituted regulation 34C in the hopes that he would quit, to give him a way out that would preserve his pride and for something more valuable than Grid Battleforce could ever offer. Now, she could only watch as he was going through a Hell of her making, and knowing that if she ever told him that she was the one responsible that he would likely never be able to forgive her. Nor, would she blame him if that was the case.

She heard someone coming and wiped her face. She turned to see Nate coming down the hall with some men in fancy suits, along with a very familiar looking man, who looked to be irate.

"Commander Shaw." Nate began. "Mr Winchester insisted…"

"I want to know what the devil happened to my son!" He barked at her, interrupting Nate. Commander Shaw just looked to him and indicated for him to leave. She had already spoken on the phone to Blaze and Roxy's families. As the head of the Ranger project, it was her responsibility ultimately to inform the families of what had happened. There wasn't much she could tell them, partly because of the classified nature of the project, but mostly because they were still trying to figure out much of it themselves.

"Mr Winchester. I assure you that…"

"Is he in there?" He demanded.

"Mr Winchester, you can be sure your son is getting the best care available and…"

"Considering its MY money that funded the whole thing that is exactly the LEAST I'd expect!" He yelled at her. He didn't wait for an invitation, barging past her. She didn't think now was the time to explain to him what 'classified' meant. All she could see was a father that wanted to see his son. Ravi saw him entering and stood to attention as the rest stormed in. Mr Winchester didn't bother to ask who he was, instead he just went over to Blaze's pod and stared in at him through the glass.

"We've been assured that your son is alive." Commander Shaw told him. "We're working around the clock to give him the best care possible…"

"Will he recover?" He demanded. She just sighed.

"We're doing everything possible." She told him. He turned towards her, sticking his finger right in her face.

"That is my son, the heir to the Winchester legacy!" He stated. "Shut all of this down."

"I'm sorry?"

"The Morph-X, the Rangers, all of it!" He yelled. "Your only concern now is getting my son back out of that pod…"

"Mr Winchester." Ravi started to say, noting his enraged manner. "Your son…the only way we can get him back is for the Rangers to…"

"Why is he talking?" He interrupted him disrespectfully. "I own 30 percent of all of this. You would do well to remember…"

"And you would do well to remember that MY client owns 34 percent." Another man in a suit said as he entered the room. He looked to Commander Shaw. "I represent the Collins' estate. They sent me to assure you that whatever you need, you only have to ask."

"My son is a Winchester! He will inherit…"

"And MY son almost ended up in a pod right alongside him!" Commander Shaw responded. "Now, I am sorry for your predicament, but threatening us is not going to do your son or this situation any good Mr Winchester. You have my word, if there is any change in his condition, you will be the first to know. Until then, I would appreciate it if you would stop threatening and trying to bully my staff who are working VERY hard to save your son!"

Winchester looked to her in disgust, before gesturing to his lawyers to follow him.

"Rest assured, if anything happens to my legacy, I will end you!" He warned her as he stormed out, leaving her with Ravi. She took a deep breath.

"Mom, are you…?"

"Son, I have been personally threatened by men that ended up in the Hague for some of the most despicable crimes against humanity you could imagine." She interrupted him. "Lawyers don't really scare me."

"Is it time for the morning briefing?" He asked. She just nodded.

"Head up to the Command Centre." She confirmed. "I'll be up shortly."

With that, he headed out the door. Commander Shaw waited until he was gone, before heading to Roxy's pod and placing a hand on it.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Up in the Command Centre, Zoey was waiting for the Commander and the other Rangers. Ben and Betty came into the room, seeing her.

"How are you?" Betty asked her.

"As good as can be expected." She answered with a shrug. "It was kind of weird being in the dorm by myself you know? I mean, that's Roxy's place."

"It was yours too." Ben reminded her.

"I know, but…" She just sighed and shook her head. "I found two half-finished packets of pop tarts that were both open and only had blueberry in them. I actually yelled at Roxy for it."

Ben and Betty just stared at her sympathetically.

"I know, its stupid right?" She chuckled. "It always bugged the hell out of me when she did that. I yelled at her about it and it took me a couple of minutes to remember she wasn't actually there."

"Roxy was…IS…a friend." Betty reminded her. "She was always really cool to us."

"Yeah, most of the other cadets wouldn't give us the time of day." Ben agreed.

"She's the best." Zoey agreed. "If she walked through that door right now, I wouldn't give a shit about all the stale pop tarts in the world."

"Hey…its cool. Nate is doing everything for her." Ben reminded her. "If anyone can figure out how to bring her back it's him."

"You know…and Blaze." Betty added. "You know…if he has time."

Zoey laughed a little. She appreciated that they were trying to make her feel better. She had wanted to be a Ranger, but not like this. If Roxy walked back into the Command Centre right now, Zoey would have been only too happy to give her the biggest hug in the world and give her back her rightful spot on the team. "How's Ravi? I didn't see him in the gym earlier."

"He's been in the infirmary since about four." Ben told her. "I was on the night patrol. He hasn't left in hours."

"Poor guy, I can't imagine what this is doing to him." Zoey sighed.

"Guys, how awesome is this Ranger thing?" Devon said excitedly as he strode into the room with a huge, bright grin on his face. "I swear, last night, I needed to get a cab home. I could barely walk, this morning, I feel better than…than maybe ever!"

They all just stared at him. It was more than a little bit of a different mood.

"I mean, seriously, my wrist…it's never been the same since I discovered Inferno Battler but today it feels incredible!" He told them. "Stuff I've had for years, gone!"

"I'm glad you like the benefits of being a Ranger." Nate said as he arrived. "The powers will heal you all faster. I'm not saying you should try walking into traffic or anything, but most things should heal up pretty quick, and we have some of the best medical tech available for anything more serious."

"How are you?" Zoey asked, noticing that he was still limping a little. He just shrugged.

"I'll be fine eventually." He assured them. Just then, Ravi came in.

"Hey man, how awesome are these Ranger powers?" Devon rushed out. "I mean seriously, yesterday we were just about wrecked and today…"

"Uh…Devon?" Zoey said, trying to get his attention before he said something that might set Ravi off. Devon had no reason to know that he and Roxy had been in a relationship, but that didn't mean that Ravi might not take it badly. "Two of our…friends…are in intensive care."

"Oh…OH!" He said, suddenly realising how it had to sound. The powers should have been given to Roxy and Blaze. In his excitement he had let it slip his mind that while he had been fortunate, others had not been as lucky. He had his reasons to dislike Blaze, but he would never wish anything like that on anyone. "I'm…I'm sorry, I…that was thoughtless, I didn't mean…"

"Hey, I get it. If it wasn't for Roxy and Blaze, I'd probably be dancing right now." Ravi told him.

"He would?" Ben whispered to Betty.

"I'm not the only one a little curious how that would look, right?" Betty answered. Zoey just nodded in agreement. He was so staid, so rigid that it just seemed weird to think about him doing anything like that.

"I know, it's just…I'm sorry." Devon told him.

"If it wasn't for you two, I'd be right in there with them." He reminded them. "I know I probably had a little too much on my mind to say so earlier but…thank you."

"It's cool." Devon assured him. "I think all of us have to let our brains catch up to where we are right now."

"That's a good mentality to have." Commander Shaw said as she walked in. "This has caught us all off-guard. While the avatars have been dealt with for now, I think it would be foolish to presume they won't be back."

"Not to mention we need to find them if we're going to wake Blaze and Roxy up." Zoey recalled.

"You have a lot to learn." She told them. "Nate, are you ready for the introductions?"

"Introductions?" Zoey asked.

"Yes." Nate told them. "Follow me. It's time for you to meet the rest of your team."

"Rest of the team?" Devon asked. "I thought there were only three Rangers."

"Follow me." Nate said with a smile, leading them out of the room.


	27. An Issue of Leadership

Scrozzle and Blaze teleported into the city, a couple of blocks away from a Morph-X tower. There were around a dozen or so all around the city. Although Morph-X was extremely efficient and the entire city could likely run for years on only a barrel or so, they were already planning ahead for the day the rest of the world would join in. Coral Harbour had not exactly been a poor city, having plenty of business and commerce, but one of the real appeals of signing on to be the staging point of the Morph-X revolution was getting in on the ground floor of the energy source that would soon make all fossil fuels completely obsolete. Gas was now averaging around twenty dollars a gallon when at one time people would complain if it rose as high as four or five. Once word got out about how safe, clean, and more importantly cheap Morph-X was, every city on the planet would soon want their own production, but that would take time. In the meantime, people would need Morph-X ready to go, and that meant stockpiling.

"Alright, one of the towers is nearby." Blaze told him. "There's a distribution centre on the grounds. The security in the tower will be tight, but the trucks in the yard will be comparatively easy to hit."

He looked to Scrozzle.

"OK, how much do we need?" He asked.

"For now, we should aim to take a couple of barrels." Scrozzle told him. "Once we have that, we should be able to power some of our more powerful weapons. Future incursions will be a lot easier then."

"You said you have a device for extracting the Morph-X?" Blaze responded.

"Just you worry about getting us in." Scrozzle replied. "You'll get the device then."

"Alright." Blaze responded, curling his lip in derision. He didn't like how guarded his new ally was being with the details of his plan. He might not have cared too much about the Ranger program beyond the prestige it would give him being able to say he was the Red Ranger in his memoirs when he inherited the Winchester fortune, but that didn't mean he didn't know that executing a plan generally required some information. "I'll get us in."

"Now, I had a quick look at the schematics and I think there's a weak entry point at…" Scrozzle started to say before he realised Blaze was already walking towards the plant. "Wait…where are you going? THAT'S THE FRONT GATE!"

Blaze strode straight up to the guard, who snapped to attention as he recognised him.

"Mr Winchester!" He rushed out. Blaze just smiled.

"Yeah, that's me." He responded. "Mind if I come in?"

"Uh…sir, I need to verify this with the Commander…"

"You already know who I am right?" Blaze asked. "One day I'm going to…you know…own this. So, how about you go get me a coffee and let me in?"

The guard turned to the guard station and started to pour a coffee when his partner noticed him.

"What are you doing? That's your third cup today!" The other guard responded.

"It's not for me, it's for Blaze Winchester!" He rushed in a panic. "He's here and he wants to see the site!"

"Blaze?" The other guard said in confusion. He could have sworn he saw something about that in the morning briefing. Before he could pull it up on the computer though, Blaze came into the guard station. Within moments, he'd knocked them both out cold. He reached to the control unit and pulled the lever, opening the gate, allowing Scrozzle in. Heading back out front, he saw Scrozzle approaching him.

"I had a plan!" Scrozzle screeched. Blaze just shrugged.

"Mine was quicker." Blaze said, gesturing to his face. "I figured best to make use of this before word gets out. You coming?"

With that, they both headed inside.

Over at Grid Battleforce headquarters, the team were taken down to the lab area. Repairs and redecoration were taking place as a result of the battle the previous day. They always suspected there was a chance that someone would come for Morph-X. It was inevitable. Whenever there was power, there were always going to be those that desired it and were willing to do anything to get it. Of course, no one expected it to happen so soon, and certainly not inside their own house!

"Alright, we're heading down here." Commander Shaw told them, leading to another lab. There were always numerous projects going on at any one time and of varying levels of clearance. When they got to one of the doors, Commander Shaw pulled out three lanyards and handed them to the Rangers.

"As the new Rangers, you now have increased access. Your security clearance will be second only to mine and Nate's. These are your new passes. I don't think I need to reiterate the importance for discretion." She sighed as Devon held up his hand.

"Uh…new guy remember?" He asked. "I haven't heard any of these briefings."

"Well, we're short on time so I'll give you the quick version." Commander Shaw responded. "If you reveal anything about the Morph-X production methods, the technology you use or the identities of your team you will be arrested for espionage and locked up in a Government Black Site for the remainder of your natural life." Devon just laughed.

"Good one Commander." He chuckled, before seeing the stern look she gave him and the fact she wasn't laughing. He looked to the others. "She's joking, right? Right?"

Commander Shaw just cocked an eyebrow before turning to the door.

"Seriously, I can't even tell my dad or my friend Mike?" Devon asked.

"They take security pretty seriously around here." Zoey told him.

"What you've done already would probably have earned you an extended stay in an off-the-books prison if it wasn't for the fact you saved us." Ravi confirmed. Devon just slinked back a little. After opening the door, Commander Shaw gestured them all inside.

"Rangers, it's time for you to meet your new tactical companions." She said, leading them inside and panning her hand across three robots. They were, conveniently, colour coded so it made it pretty simple for them to figure out which one was which.

"Wow, we get our own robots?" Devon said excitedly as he saw them. Nate headed over and stood proudly beside his creations.

"I prefer the term Beast Bots." He told them. "Like each of you, they have been infused with animal DNA."

"Animal DNA?" Devon asked.

"It's how you all have your unique enhanced abilities." Nate told him. "Devon, as the recipient of cheetah DNA, you have the ability to move at incredible speeds over a short distance in explosive bursts. Ravi's gorilla DNA allows him to flood his muscles with incredible power, increasing his strength far beyond that of even a morphed Ranger, while Zoey's jackrabbit DNA increases the strength of her legs to a massive degree meaning she can jump huge distances and heights."

"OK, so that explains that." Devon replied. "So, the robots?"

"Beast Bots." Nate corrected him wearily. "They are far more than just robots. They are sentient, even having their own personalities. They have been programmed with all the vital functions that will help you in your day-to-day duties, not to mention they can also transform to become the control units for your Zords."

"Robots with personalities?" Devon asked. "You know, two days ago that would have sounded crazy to me but now…not so much."

"You built these as well?" Zoey asked, looking at them open-mouthed in awe. "You're…uh…that's amazing!"

"This one is yours." He said, turning on the yellow one. It looked mostly cylindrical, with a couple of legs and a dome-shaped head. It seemed as though it was inspired largely by R2D2 from the Star Wars franchise, though it did have a couple of long ear-like antennae coming from the top of its head, and large dials for eyes. Its circuits lit up and it started to move, before locking on to Zoey and heading towards her.

"Ah, Zoey! I'm Jax!" It introduced itself in a Brooklyn accent. "I'm here to make sure you're fast and efficient!"

"Great! Thanks!" She said excitedly, before reaching out a hand and rubbing its head. "Oh, you're so cute!"

"I hate when people call me cute!" Jax responded curtly. Zoey just pulled back a little.

"Oh…sorry." She replied. Nate looked to her apologetically.

"They're sentient which means they form their own personalities." He told her. "Jax, she was just paying you a compliment, that wasn't very nice."

"Yeah? Well how would you like it if she called YOU cute?" He asked. Both Zoey and Nate looked to each other, before Nate turned away sharply, coughing a little.

"Yes, well…um…" He stammered, turning on the blue one. It was much larger, standing over everyone in the room. It had a steering wheel for a face. It started grunting like the gorilla that inspired its appearance and opened its arms, heading towards Ravi.

"Ravi! My name's Smash!" It said in a gravelly tone as it walked towards him with its arms out. "Bring it in!"

"Uh…not really the hugging type." Ravi responded. Smash slumped down, looking disappointed.

"Aw, but I like hugs!" He protested.

"Go on Ravi, give him a hug." Devon pressed on.

"I don't hug." Ravi responded.

"Aw, go on, you can see he wants one." Zoey joined in, enjoying the teasing of her new team mate. "It's just his personality. Look at him, he looks so sad."

"Just because he has a personality doesn't mean I need to change mine." Ravi replied. "I'm sorry Smash, but I don't hug."

"I don't see why; you did a lot more than that with Roxy." Zoey whispered under her breath, recalling all the sleepless nights caused by the paper-thin walls of her shared dorm room. Ravi looked to her.

"What was that?" He asked, completely missing what she said. Zoey just shook her head.

"Never mind." She replied. Right now, she wasn't even sure if he knew that she had been Roxy's roommate, never mind that she had known all about their relationship. She made a mental note not to bring it up again. She didn't want to upset him any more than he likely was already.

Nate finally went to the last Beast Bot. It was red, and the most human-like of the three. It had a vaguely triangular head with what looked like handlebars coming out of the sides.

"Hi Devon! My name is Cruise." It introduced itself. "I'm here for all your needs."

"As well as being an assistant and your zords control panel, it'll also be a personal transport for you." Nate told him. Cruise just looked to him.

"I will?" Cruise asked. Nate just face-palmed.

"Yes, Cruise, look up your schematics." Nate stated. "He's a little forgetful unfortunately. I think I may need to give him some tune-ups when I get some time."

"Oh…OH right!" Cruise said, before jumping backwards and turning into a motorcycle. Devon just marvelled at it. While he did have a licence, he had never owned a car or a bike. His dad had been the Mayor of Coral Harbour now for so long he'd never had any reason to. If he wanted to go anywhere that wasn't within walking distance or within easy access of a subway station or bus stop, his dad's driver was only too happy to take him.

"This is so awesome!" Devon called out. Ravi and Zoey just looked to each other, then to the Commander.

"Uh, mom?" Ravi asked. "I mean, Commander…not that we're complaining or anything but…"

"Yes?" She asked.

"Well, the thing is I think we were just wondering…why don't our Beast Bots become vehicles?" She asked. "Not that we mind, I mean Jax is great and so…"

She tailed off, looking to Jax who was glowering at her.

"Really…intimidating." She said as she stopped herself. "But it would be helpful."

"You have access to the full fleet of Grid Battleforce vehicles in the garage." She replied, handing each of them a key. "Those are all-access keys that will operate any of the vehicles."

She could see them both smiling, but could see the question wasn't really answered. She just sighed.

"It's a perk of being Red Ranger." She told them. "I think it's no secret things didn't turn out exactly as we planned, and as I'm sure you all know, traditionally the Red Ranger is the leader of the team."

"Wait…I am?" Devon asked. "Whoa, I…I'm flattered but…"

"Since the equipment is already made there's nothing, we can do about that, but I think it's also clear to say that since we've already thrown the original plans out the window, we can afford to do so with the traditional roles too." She interrupted him. "Since none of this was planned, I think it's only fair to say that it would be best to let merit and ability decide who should be the leader as opposed to some arbitrary rule of chromatic superiority."

They all just looked to her a little confused.

"Since your lives are going to be the ones in danger, I think it is for the best that you decide between yourselves who you think should lead the team." Commander Shaw told them.

"I like that plan!" Devon said, almost sounding relieved to hear that he would not be thrust into the position of leading the team.

"I'm glad you approve." Commander Shaw responded. "I'll expect your answer by the end of the week. Now, if you'll follow me, we're going to the simulators to let you practice on your Zords."

"The simulator?" Devon shrieked, punching the air. "YES! FINALLY!"

Meanwhile, over at the plant, Blaze dragged an unconscious guard, putting him on a pile with a bunch of others, binding him with cables. He looked to where Scrozzle was working on the computers.

"OK, that's the last of the guards." Blaze told him. "You got the alarms?"

"They're down." He assured him. "Now we can start extracting the Morph-X!"

"OK, cool." Blaze replied. "So, let's see the device." Blaze said. Scrozzle reached behind his back, before pulling something out. Blaze looked to it, and then back to him in derision.

"You're kidding, right?" Blaze asked.

"What?" Scrozzle asked.

"You're supposed to be some kind of mechanical and engineering genius and your idea is a HAND PUMP?" Blaze snapped.

"We want to preserve the Morph-X we have in case we need to call reinforcements." Scrozzle protested. Blaze just glared at him. "Just…get to work!"

Blaze snatched the pump from him and headed off towards one of the trucks.

"These weapons better be worth it." Blaze muttered.

Back at Grid Battleforce, the Rangers had spent a while on the simulators getting used to their Zords. Ravi had the most experience, having already gone through the Zord training, but the others were learning quickly.

Zoey had the most to make up, flying a helicopter wasn't exactly something most people just picked up. Still, she was always a quick learner, and even if she was a little rough on the finer controls, and was yet to perform a take-off and landing that didn't rattle her bones a little, she was more or less able to handle things once the Zord was in the air. Jax being sentient helped matters tremendously because it cut down on a lot of the things she had to worry about. If she was honest, he was doing about 80 percent of the flying, but she was nothing if not determined to make it up.

Devon was having the time of his life, whooping and letting out shrieks of delight as he ran through the simulations. It was everything he had hoped for and more, the ultimate video game! The Racer Zord was fast as lightning, and it was a real challenge to throw it through the courses. Still, he had more PlayStation Platinum Trophies than anyone else he knew and was always keen to try out a brand-new challenge to his skills. They all got off their simulators as Commander Shaw came to them.

"So, how was your first run on the simulators?" She asked.

"It was such a blast!" Devon rushed out without thinking, before seeing the look on her face. "And…um…you know…really serious and educational."

"Good, because now you're going to see the real thing." She told them, gesturing to them to follow her. The team all went with her down to the main Zord Hangar. Huge security doors opened up, letting them see the Zords in all their glory.

"Your Beast Bots will help you in controlling them, but I have to warn you, those are some of the most advanced and dangerous weapons ever created. You will be responsible for anything that happens when you use them." She told them. "In addition to your other duties, you will be expected to train on the simulators. Far too many lives are at risk if you aren't up to the task of piloting them."

"Other duties?" Devon asked.

"Officially, on paper at least, the Rangers don't exist." Ravi informed him. "We're seconded to Ranger duties from our own departments. Officially I'm a physical training officer."

"And I'm the laundry supervisor." Zoey told them. Ravi looked to her.

"You got a promotion?" He asked. She just shrugged.

"It's more like dead-man's boots." She told him. "A lot of the officers resigned after the attack and…I know the most, and it will free up some of my time if I'm running the department instead of working in it so…now I run the department."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will work SO hard in those jobs!" Devon chuckled.

"So, I was wondering if you'd given any thought to the other issue." Commander Shaw asked them.

"Other issue?" Zoey asked.

"About leading the team." She replied. Devon just looked around and started whistling. He had no desire whatsoever to lead the team. It sounded like a whole lot of hassle and responsibility. He loved the idea of being a superhero, but why did he need to be Batman, or Captain America? He would be happy enough being Robin. Robin got all the cool toys and all the same adventures, but the people of Gotham weren't debating whether or not Robin would ever 'cross the line' or whether he was 'causing more trouble than he fixed'. "With all this new hardware, it's critical the team have the right leader."

"I'd be happy to accept this responsibility, Commander!" Ravi said as he stepped forward. Commander Shaw did see a lot of sense in having Ravi lead the team. He was the most highly trained and experienced. Of the three, he was the only one that was actually meant to even be on the team in the first place. Still, the part of her that worried for her son did worry if it would be too much to ask him to bear. He was already carrying the responsibility of a Ranger, and she was sure he had to be blaming himself for what happened to Blaze and Roxy, even though he could not realistically have done anything to stop it.

Zoey saw him step forward, and she did think that having the one member of the team that had been through the full training as the leader made a lot of sense, but she had some training too. Sure, she'd been cut weeks before the end, and she might have to let Jax give her a few more lessons in how to land the Zord without risking compressing her spine but she could get there, and…and there was something else worrying her too.

She knew about Ravi's relationship with Roxy. She knew he'd spent most of the night sitting by her pod. It tore her apart knowing that her best friend was lying in the pod in a coma instead of pissing her off by throwing laundry all over the floor and leaving pop tarts to go stale. She had failed in her attempt to become a Ranger largely because she took on too much. More than any of them, she knew that everyone, no matter how strong, had their limit before they would break. She did something that almost surprised her just as much as it did Ravi and stepped forward.

"Excuse me, I don't think you're the only one up for consideration." She told him. He just looked to her.

"I have the most experience." He reminded her. "I was the only one that was meant to be a Ranger."

Zoey felt herself wavering. He had a point, a good one, but the more she thought about Roxy, the more she thought that she couldn't do anything for her friend right now. She wasn't smart like Nate; she couldn't think of a way to wake her up. If she could, she would, but since Nate wasn't able to do so, there was no way she'd ever be able to.

She could already see the weariness in Ravi's eyes and she felt like there was one thing she could do for Roxy. She could keep the man she loved safe, even if it meant protecting him from himself and his own self-flagellation.

"I have experience too." She told him. "Not to mention, I have leadership skills. I reorganised the entire Grid Battleforce laundry department."

Ravi snorted in the kind of way that Zoey had heard all too often in her life. She felt herself tensing up. She could protect Ravi from killing himself under the weight of taking too much responsibility…but that didn't necessarily mean Roxy would mind if she bruised him up a little first right?

"Yeah, like that's hard." He said dismissively. Commander Shaw stepped in.

"How would you know? You've never done a piece of laundry in your life." It was now Zoey's turn to snigger and snort. Devon was far less subtle, openly laughing.

"Dude, you just got mommed so hard!" He chuckled. Commander Shaw looked to him.

"You seem remarkably quiet on the subject." She stated. "Who do you think should lead?"

"Uh…" He said, feeling well and truly put on the spot. He had only known both of them for a day, he had barely any idea who they even were never mind who would be a good leader. They both kind of seemed like they knew what they were doing, more than he did anyway. He didn't know how to answer, and knew that no matter which one of them he chose, the other would be pissed. A couple of assistants were wheeling a blaster past him at that point.

"I think that is one cool blaster!" He rushed out, hoping that changing the subject would get him out of the situation.

"That's the Cheetah Beast Blaster." Nate informed him. "It interfaces with the Red Rangers' Zord, hyper charging its attacks."

"I get a BFG 9000?" Devon screeched. "I love this job!"

Just then, the alarm sounded. Ben and Betty ran into the room.

"Commander, we just got a glitch in the system, the alarm system at a Morph-X distribution centre has been disabled for half an hour!" Betty informed her. It was always known that there could be glitches in the system, but a failsafe was that the central command would be alerted if any tower's security system was inactive for longer than 30 minutes. It would allow them to contact the tower in question and check to see if everything was alright.

"We didn't get an answer when we called, but we pulled up some security footage." Ben told her. "Facial recognition…"

"Isn't exactly necessary." She sighed, seeing the image. "That's Blaze."

"I'm on it!" Both Ravi and Zoey called out. They looked to each other and stared for a moment, before running out of the Zord hangar. Devon followed on afterwards.

"They might need backup." Betty told her. "We'll go too."

As they all left, Commander Shaw just sighed.

"Nate, I'm heading to the Command Centre." She told him. "I want constant updates on the Rangers."

"Roger that." Nate replied.


	28. First Time Rangers

Betty drove one of the Grid Battleforce SUV's towards the Morph-X distribution centre. None of them knew what they were likely to face, it was a fail-safe alarm that sounded to inform them the security system hadn't been active for over 30 minutes, which could easily just be a minor fault that they were correcting right now. Right now though…a few of the passengers were somewhat regretting the decision to let Betty drive!

"Whoa, whoa, Betty WHOA!" Zoey called out.

"Jeez, that was close!" Devon added. "Betty, that was an articulated truck, how did you not see that?"

"Betty, that last light was red!" Ben squealed. Betty though seemed not to take much notice of their concerns. She did have a very assertive, some would say aggressive outlook for someone who was so small. She was always the first one ready to stand up to someone twice her size, since…well…virtually everyone was twice her size. It seemed like her interpersonal demeanour extended to her driving as well!

"Yeah, same to you asshole!" She screamed out the window as a car swerved to avoid her, blaring its horn. "We've got an emergency here!"

"We soon will have if you don't slow down!" Zoey responded. She genuinely liked Betty, but accidental or not, she had only just gotten the position of Yellow Ranger, and she really didn't fancy having the shortest Ranger career by virtue of ending up a road traffic accident statistic on the way to her first assignment. Given all the great Rangers that had come before her, she imagined it'd be a little embarrassing for the next generation to read about her getting scraped off an engine block with a spatula.

"There's still no answer at the distribution centre." Ravi said as he tried his communicator one more time. "Something's definitely going on."

"That's it up ahead, right?" Devon asked, pointing to the tower. "Betty, kill the siren. We don't know what we might run into up there."

"Don't bother." Ravi replied with authority. "Time is of the essence. Anyone that doesn't run of their own accord hearing sirens isn't likely to run anyway."

"Whatever you say." Devon replied with a shrug. He didn't bother to press the matter. Ravi had already made it pretty clear he wanted to lead the team. He didn't have any interest in that himself. It was fun leading raiding parties in his favourite MMORPG's or online shooters, but he got to put down the controller and turn off his console once he was getting bored. The thought of being expected to tell everyone what to do all the time? That just sounded like a whole lot of hassle. He settled back into his seat as he decided to return to hoping that Betty in fact was not trying to kill them all.

In the yard, Blaze was busy cranking the handle on the hand pump, syphoning Morph-X out of a tanker. There was plenty here, but with a hand pump it was slow going, even for him with his enhanced abilities. He'd so far managed to syphon off a couple of barrels and was starting on another.

"Keep pumping avatar. We need all the Morph-X we can get!" Scrozzle instructed him. Blaze just rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I think I missed the part where you gave the orders around here." Blaze said sarcastically. "But if you've got a problem, maybe this would be going a little faster if I had some of that marvellous tech you keep bragging about."

"You want to see a sample of my tech do you?" Scrozzle asked as he filled a couple of glass vials with Morph-X. He clipped them into the sides of what looked a little bit like a briefcase, or perhaps a laptop computer. Blaze just scrunched up his face looking at it. He hadn't used a laptop computer since he was about five. His parents always had enough money to ensure he always had the latest tech. He'd been using touch-screens for years.

"What's that?" Blaze asked him.

"You'll see soon enough." Scrozzle told him. Just then, they heard sirens. They sounded like they were approaching. Scrozzle just looked to Blaze. "Perhaps sooner than expected. It sounds like we're getting company."

"I took care of the security!" Blaze snapped.

"Apparently not as well as you believed." Scrozzle replied as the SUV skidded around the side of the building. Blaze just smirked and left the hand pump.

"You get rid of this." Blaze told him. "I'll deal with this."

As the SUV skidded to a halt, Ravi and Zoey strode forward, while Devon, Ben and Betty were a little further back. Devon looked to the twins.

"You two hang back here, where its safe." He told them.

"Are you sure?" Betty asked.

"Yes, he's sure!" Ben answered, relieved that Devon had told them to stay out of the danger zone. His sister had a habit of getting herself into dangerous situations, and he was always dragged along for the ride. There were times he refused, but since she always went ahead anyway he didn't want to think what could happen to her if he wasn't there to help. Still, he was hopeful getting a direct order from a Ranger might just convince her more than he could that there was a time to let the people who were hired for the job deal with it.

"Blaze!" Ravi called out, seeing the avatar a little way off. "Nate said you'd find a way back to this dimension."

"Ah, if it isn't my old friends!" Blaze said in a rather derisive manner as he morphed. "I'd say it's been a while but…you didn't really put me down for that long did you?"

"Guys, who's that?" Devon asked, pointing to Scrozzle. Blaze gestured to Scrozzle.

"Oh, this guy?" He asked. "You're not the only ones that made some new friends." He stated. "Meet my new friends. This is Scrozzle and TRONICS!"

In a flash of light, a hoard of tronics appeared. Devon and the others all pulled into a guard, seeing them appear.

"Guys, what are those things?" Devon asked. "I don't know about you, but maybe we should hang back a bit, figure out what these things are and what they can do and…"

Zoey let out a huge yell as she started to run towards the Tronics. She wasn't sure what these things were, but if they were working for Blaze she doubted they were friendly. Her personal mantra resounded in her head. She didn't run from problems, she solved problems. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for them to make the first move. Ravi, seeing her go, began his own charge. Devon just sighed.

"Or we could do that." He replied as he joined in the attack.

Over in the Command Centre, Commander Shaw was with her team, trying to get an idea what was going on. Ben and Betty were the only ones broadcasting since the others were currently involved in a straight up brawl with Blaze and the Tronics. It fell to them to explain what was going on.

"I'm telling you, Blaze just showed up with these…things." Ben told them, turning his communicator watch to try and let them see the battle.

"What about that robot by the barrels?" Commander Shaw asked.

"I don't know what he's doing." Ben told her. "I think Blaze said his name was Scrozzle, but other than that…he doesn't seem to be doing much of anything. It's only the others that are fighting."

"He's with the Morph-X." Betty added, pulling out a weapon. "You want us to get rid of him?"

"Betty, what's that?" Commander Shaw asked.

"Uh…the Zap-o-matic?" She asked. Commander Shaw just sighed.

"Betty, what have I told you about making unauthorised technology?" Commander Shaw asked.

"But…"

"Besides, Morph-X is explosive. If you're not careful you could set off a blast that'll take out the whole block." She reminded her. Betty just sheepishly put the device away. "So, what's happening?"

"By the looks of things, Devon is fighting with Blaze." Ben told her. "Zoey and Ravi are fighting the other things."

"Let me see." Commander Shaw instructed him. Ben just turned his communicator so that she could see.

Back at the site of the battle, Zoey was fighting with a couple of Tronics, when she was able to see Ravi a little way off. He was dismantling them with the practiced ease she would have expected. She had seen him and Roxy training many times and knew they were good. She had barely finished off her own opponents when Ravi was standing over his own defeated opponents, almost like he was keeping score.

"What took you so long?" He taunted her, gesturing to the wreckage around him. "This, this is how a true leader kicks robot…"

He was interrupted as a blaster appeared in Zoey's hand and she seemed to aim it straight at him. He threw himself to the ground just as she opened fire. He could hear a couple of explosions, and turned over to see the remains of two Tronics hitting the ground a little way off. She approached him.

"And that's how a true leader protects her team." She replied. She couldn't blame Ravi for being distracted. He had a lot on his mind right now, between being a Ranger, Roxy and everything else. It was one of the reasons she was concerned that he was also lobbying to be the team leader. She didn't doubt he'd be her first choice if things were different. He was by far the top ranking cadet the whole way through the program. She didn't know why they would choose Blaze over him in the first place, but if Roxy was still around, if he was himself, she would have no doubt in her mind she would step aside for him. Ravi scrambled to his feet, looking annoyed.

"You think that proves anything?" He asked her. "I had those guys!"

"Yeah, well it didn't look like it from where I was standing!" She responded pointedly.

"And another thing, where do you get of pulling out blasters?" Ravi asked her. "We're surrounded by Morph-X! You could have blown us all to Kingdom Come!"

"Hey, you're not the only one that trained for this remember? I know all about checking my fire-lines." She told him. "In case you hadn't noticed, there are no barrels down that way. Besides, what's the point in us having weapons if we don't use them?"

They heard a yell and turned, only to throw themselves aside as Devon flew through the air, landing right between them.

"Yeah, I'm fine by the way!" He said as they both turned to confront Blaze, who just gave Devon a little nonchalant wave, before turning away as more Tronics started to charge them. "Maybe you could stop fighting each other and start fighting them!"

With that, they all returned to the battle. Blaze saw them battling with the Tronics. It was pretty clear that they were more of a speed-bump than a roadblock. The team might be held up, but they would get through them eventually. He saw Scrozzle teleporting the barrels back to the Cyber Dimension just as they planned. The Rangers, as much as they could be called that, were too busy playing around with Tronics to realise that he already had what he had come for. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't claim a bonus while he was at it, and destroying a Ranger or two just sounded like fun!

"Scrozzle, you got any more tricks?" He asked.

"Glad you asked." Scrozzle told him, pulling a drive out of his computer. "I've uploaded this key with a bit of the Evox virus. With just a little bit of Morph-X to power it, we're ready to make a Robotron."

"A what?" He asked. Scrozzle walked over to a stack of tyres, jamming the key into one of them. Blaze watched on as in a flash of light, the tyres turned into a robot. "Not bad."

"Now, we can get out of here while Cyclotron deals with the Rangers." Scrozzle told him, packing up his computer. "Come, let's go."

"Later!" Blaze said as he and Scrozzle disappeared. Zoey, Devon and Ravi were left facing the Cyclotron.

"OK, what in the hell is that?" Devon asked.

"I don't know, but let's send it back where it…" Ravi started to say, before Zoey put her key into her morpher. There were bright lights and a lot of smoke. The energy seemed to interact with the smoke and create what looked like a roaring jackrabbit to appear. Devon couldn't explain why, but he found himself drawn to stare straight into it. By the time the smoke cleared, the Yellow Ranger was standing where Zoey once stood. He blinked and shook his head.

"Whoa, that was…did anyone else lose a few seconds?" He asked. Ravi didn't answer though. He too morphed. Devon just pulled out his key and morphed too.

Back at the Command Centre, Commander Shaw oversaw her team as they tried to get the security system back so that she could see what was going on.

"We're leading blind here." Commander Shaw snapped. "We need eyes."

"We should be getting the system back, right about…now!" Her lead technician told her, finally hacking into the system. "It looks like the system was shut down on-site. Probably Blaze, he would know how the system worked. I just turned it back on."

"What's going on? Where's Blaze?" She asked, before getting on her communicator. "Someone respond, anyone! What is going on down there? Where's Blaze?"

"He took off." Betty reported as she and Ben ducked down into some cover. "He and Scrozzle teleported out with a bunch of barrels."

"Scrozzle?" She asked. "But what about that robot the Rangers are fighting?"

"That's another robot." Ben chipped in. "It showed up before Blaze and Scrozzle." He clicked his tongue and flicked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate their exit. Commander Shaw just sighed.

"This is a mess. I'm sending Nate and the Beast Bots for assistance." She stated. "What's going on with the Rangers?"

"Zoey and Ravi seem to be fighting the big one." Ben told her. "Devon's finishing off the Tronics."

"You mean the purple ones?" Commander Shaw asked. They just nodded. "I'll need as much footage as we can get for tactical analysis for once the situation is dealt with."

"Roger that." The technician responded. "I'm already recording all I can."

Back at the site of the battle, Devon was busy fighting some Tronics, trying to keep them away from the others. He figured he could always help them when the Tronics were dealt with, and more than one mook-fight boss battle in his years of gaming had told him that thinning out the number of cannon-fodder enemies was essential to be able to take on the big bad. It was an annoying game-design at times, but sometimes to make boss battles artificially harder, games would put them in the arena with a whole bunch of low level enemies. It was more of a distraction than anything else, and with so many other targets it was often easy to lose track of the harder-hitting boss. Both Ravi and Zoey had more training with the Ranger thing than he did, so he figured they could probably handle it until he got rid of the Tronics.

Blasting the last of them, he took a moment to take a breath and allowed himself a little satisfied chuckled.

"That takes care of that." He said, before a movement caught his attention. He noticed a dog running across his path and heading for a patch of grass. He was about to look for the owner, hoping no one else was going to walk into the middle of the battle and turn it into an escort mission when he could only find himself looking at the dog, to its mouth, to those long, hooked canines!

He started to feel his chest tighten up, and his heart started pounding faster. He struggled to breathe, his breath becoming a series of rapid gasps, trying to fill his lungs rapidly. He couldn't pull his gaze away from those teeth. All he could hear was the dog's barking, grunting, growling…his body tensed up, his muscles starting to go taught and ready for action. He felt his blaster in his hand, and he turned it towards the dog, his hand shaking, unable to hold it still.

"Get BACK!" He roared as the dog seemed to notice him and bark at him. This only made everything worse. This was an animal that was only a few generations away from being a wolf, one of the deadliest predators on the planet, but that had the instinctual fear of humans bred out of it. It was a killing machine, with fangs, custom designed for tearing flesh from bone. Stay BACK!"

He felt his head spinning as the whole situation started to get past him. He considered running, with his cheetah speed he'd be several blocks away in just a few seconds, but then…what if he wasn't fast enough off the mark? Would it be better to shoot the dog and end the threat instead?

He heard a shrieking sound behind him and turned around to see Betty falling to the ground, convulsing, her hair standing on end. She was holding a device in her hand as she collapsed. A Tronic was on the ground next to her, having fallen in battle. Ben was running up to the dog, clapping and shooing him away. Devon felt the adrenaline starting to subside and almost collapsed as the dog finally disappeared from view, falling to his knees and doubling over. Ben came up to Devon as he started to try and get his breath back.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Devon just nodded, still not quite able to speak. He could feel himself still struggling with his instincts. His body had gone into a full-blown panic. He could hardly believe that he was even considering running while his friends were still in battle, but his body had taken over. Devon saw Betty on the ground.

"You?" He asked. She just gave him a thumbs up sign from the ground. Devon finally got his breath back enough to get onto his feet. He looked to where the others were fighting with Cyclotron, trying to decide how best to help them. Right now, he could see Ravi was approaching him. He seemed to be bellowing, screaming at the top of his lungs, and firing at him. But there was something definitely odd. Devon had always been told Ravi had the best marksmanship scores on the base, but as he fired at Cyclotron, who was maybe only a few feet in front of him, hardly any of his shots were hitting him. It also looked like there was smoke or steam coming from his costume. He knew that the suits sparked and gave off a burning smell, even a little smoke when they took a hit but Ravi looked like he was just short of being on fire.

"Yikes, it looks like someone needs to work on their aim." Zoey chuckled. Devon was horrified when he saw Ravi turn his blaster towards Zoey.

"My aim is just FINE!" Ravi roared as he opened fire. Zoey ducked and dived for all she was worth, trying to avoid the shots. Her suit enhanced her abilities enough to keep her ahead of the blasts, but after a while, she suddenly felt very heavy. Her muscles started to give out and go limp. Her legs felt like they were made of rubber, and the rest of her body started to turn into a lead weight. Her vision started to blur, and she could feel a strange buzzing in her head. She dodged a couple more shots, before suddenly her body completely gave out and she face-planted right into the ground, blacking out before she hit the ground.

Devon could see she would never be able to dodge any more shots. Zoey was out like a light. He activated his cheetah speed, body-checking Ravi to the ground, snatching his blaster from him. He turned it on Cyclotron.

"Beast-X Blast!" He called out. Cyclotron exploded as he hit the ground, finally ending the battle. Devon caught his breath for a moment, looking around at the scene in confusion as another SUV arrived.

"That was way too close. What's going wrong with us?" He asked, turning his attention towards Zoey.

He spun around as he heard a commotion behind him, turning to see that not only had Nate arrived with the Beast Bots, but that Smash had actually grabbed Ravi, who was struggling to get free.

"You're going to suffer for messing with me!" Ravi yelled. "Let go of me you beast!"

"Ravi, you're burning up!" Smash declared as he struggled to keep a hold of him. Cruise joined Smash in trying to keep a hold of him, while Jax and Nate rushed over to Zoey's side.

"Zoey, Zoey, speak to me!" Jax begged her. "Nate, she's out cold!"

Nate reached for her morpher, activating the command to demorph her. As soon as the suit disappeared, it became abundantly clear that she was indeed completely unconscious. He checked her pulse and her breathing.

"She's weak, but she's alive." Nate said as he tried to get his arms under her to lift her. "Cruise, restrain Ravi, sedate him if you have to!"

"Nate, what's going on?" Devon asked him as Nate picked up Zoey, who was just completely dead weight in his arms.

"I don't know, but it's definitely bad." He told him, the panic obvious in his face. "We need to get back to the lab, fast!"


	29. Corrupted Data

Blaze and Scrozzle arrived back at the base, finding Roxy making herself well and truly at home. Scrozzle ran over as he saw her scrolling through some of his files.

"HEY! Those are MY files!" He screamed, only for her to kick him away as he tried to pull her off the computer.

"Now now, hasn't anyone told you it's not nice not to share when you have house guests?" She teased him, before looking to the files. "I was just getting myself acquainted with your inventory. It looks like you have quite an arsenal here."

"Rude!" Scrozzle protested as he dusted himself off.

"After nearly quarter of a century I'd have been a little disappointed if he didn't have at least something to show for it." Blaze commented.

"You know, for a weapons designer your computer security is kind of a joke." She told him as she looked through the files. "Apart from this…what exactly is Vargoyle?"

"Nothing YOU need to concern yourself with!" He replied, snatching the computer away from her. Roxy just shrugged and bounded over to the Morph-X excitedly.

"Well, it looks like this has been a productive trip." She commented as she looked to it all. "All of this should power all the tech we need for quite a while."

"It would have been more if someone had brought something better than a hand pump!" Blaze said, tossing the handpump away. "But it did give me a chance to put that Devon kid in his place again. So, it wasn't a complete loss."

"I only brought the handpump because we didn't exactly want to risk wasting the power for our reinforcements and our return trip if we happened to run into trouble now did we?" Scrozzle told him. "We still don't have enough to transfer something of Evox's power back to your dimension, but we should have plenty to power some of our other tech for quite a while, including one of my Giga Drones!"

"Giga Drones?" Blaze asked.

"They're giant robots, he has a whole bunch of them in his silo underground." Roxy replied in an off-hand manner as she leaned against a wall. Scrozzle just glared at her. "What? We're the only ones here, and it's not like the Rangers are going to have to wait too long to see one is it?"

"They're much more than just giant robots. They're state-of-the-art weapons systems that can be imprinted with the unique weaponry of Robotrons. I have hundreds of them just waiting to be activated! One of them could train all the Morph-X from one of the towers and give Evox more than enough power to crush anything in his path!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Blaze asked. "Let's fuel one of these things up."

Back at Grid Battleforce, Zoey started to stir and come to. She had no idea what had happened to her. She did vaguely remember the battle, and she did remember dodging some attacks, but shortly after that, everything went dark. She was no stranger to exhaustion, having worked full-time since she was 16 along with her education, it was rare that she was ever fully rested, but this was so much more. It was like someone had literally just turned a switch off inside her. Her eyes started to flutter open and she finally saw light again, as someone looking over her. She could see a set of concerned eyes behind glasses and smiled wearily. She mumbled something unintelligible, her body still not quite up to the task of forming anything resembling human language. She tried to get up, but her muscles just weren't responding at all just yet.

"Well, Commander, they don't appear to be in any danger now." Nate told her as he finished scanning Zoey. She could only lie there, listening to what was going on around her. Her head slumped to the side, where she saw Ravi strapped to a table. He appeared to have some kind of cooling packs strapped to him, and the straps were pulled tight. She furrowed her brows as something came to her. Was it Ravi who attacked her? She knew they'd been bickering before but nothing about him would have ever given her the idea that he would take it as far as to actually try and attack her. She was on his team, and if nothing else Ravi was all about being part of a team. Hell, if he could be on a team with Blaze, he could put up with just about anyone. "Ravi's medulla oblongata is showing significantly less activity than it was a while ago and his body temperature is starting to recede."

That answered one question, if something had affected Ravi's brain that made a lot more sense than him just suddenly deciding to shoot one of his own team mates. Over in the corner, Devon was hooked up to a monitor, while Ben and Betty checked him over.

"Devon's blood pressure and pulse rate are returning to normal." Ben informed them.

"Do you have any theories what caused these weaknesses?" Commander Shaw asked Nate.

"To be honest, I have no ideas that I'd be willing to put my reputation on just yet." Nate answered her. "I haven't yet fully analysed the data from the readings in the team's suits to be able to determine what happened to them."

"I dare Blaze to come back." Ravi said, trying to get up, but being held by his restraints. "Next time, I'll take him down."

"Not if I get to him first!" Zoey said, but even she knew that her words would probably carry a lot more credibility if she could actually pull herself off the bench. Right now, she could just about move her head off the pillow and that was about it. Devon just sighed.

"Guys, I get it, we barely scraped through and its embarrassing." Devon told them. "Hell, I got my ass handed to me by Blaze for a second straight time and you better believe I want nothing more than to even that score, but going all Leroy Jenkins is what got us into this in the first place."

"Leroy who?" Ravi asked. Everyone in the Command Centre just looked to him, putting him on the spot.

"Leroy Jenkins? Are you serious? The internet meme? The Warcraft guy that…?" He saw Ravi and Zoey staring blankly at him. Nate, Ben and Betty were about to chip in, but Commander Shaw just indicated to them to keep quiet. Devon just shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter. What matters is, we rushed in before we knew what we were up against. We didn't know who those guys with Blaze were or what they could do. Now, when I'm playing a video game, sometimes its best to hang back a little bit until the bad guys come to you. You need to see what kind of weapons they have, what they can do, analyse their attack patterns. Once you've seen what they do, you can figure out how to approach them from there."

Commander Shaw just listened to him with interest. Both Ravi and Zoey just kind of looked to each other. A lot of what he was saying did make a certain amount of sense.

"The other thing we have to do is we have to stop competing." Devon told them. "Ben and Betty saved my ass because they worked together as a team. Ben got rid of that dog while Betty took out the Tronic. They didn't care who did what, they only cared about getting the job done."

"But we definitely need to fix this thing." Betty replied, putting down the zap-o-matic. "I really don't want to end up frying myself again."

"Look, I know I don't know about this training you guys did, but when I'm playing online with my friends, we act as a team. Whenever I get put on a team with guys who keep arguing I have to log out because I know we're going to get slaughtered." Devon told them. "Truthfully? I really don't care which one of you leads the team. I'll follow whoever Commander Shaw says is best for the job, but if you keep fighting the way you are? You're not going to be leading anything because we'll be getting scraped off the pavement. Blaze already got away with some Morph-X. We've got to pull it together, because if that's what he can bring to the table when he doesn't have a lot? What's he going to be packing now he has a few barrels of it?"

Commander Shaw just backed away, deciding that now wasn't the time to interject. She couldn't imagine there being anything she could say that would add anything to what Devon already had. Zoey and Ravi both looked to each other.

"He's right." Zoey said wearily.

"Sorry Devon." Ravi added. "Next time, we'll do better."

Devon went to Commander Shaw.

"Commander, we need to figure out what caused these weaknesses." He stated. "When I saw that dog, I just…I don't even know how to explain what happened. I just completely wigged out. I've never felt that way before in my life."

"Your adrenaline, heart rate, pulse rate and blood pressure all increased dramatically." Nate told him. "If I was to hazard a guess, I'd say it was a fear response."

"No, it's something else. I've been afraid before, but that was a whole different thing." Devon continued to explain. "I've never felt anything like that before. I'd like to go back to the site and have a look around. See if I can figure anything out."

"Go." She told him. As Devon left, she turned to Nate. "Continue to do whatever tests you need to. I want regular updates on their condition. Something tells me it won't be long before Blaze and his new friend are paying us another visit."

"I will Commander." Nate responded.

Devon took Cruise and headed back to the distribution centre, showing some ID to the police and security officers on duty to gain access. He parked up around the back where the trucks were parked, beginning to look around. By now there were some police, security and some other Grid Battleforce personnel looking around, no doubt trying to get to the bottom of what had happened.

The trucks were still there, as were most of the barrels. If there was anything that could be counted as a blessing, it was that they only managed to get away with a few barrels, but Devon knew enough to know how dangerous even a few barrels of Morph-X could be. It was such an efficient fuel source that he'd heard cars were being developed that ran on Morph-X that would only need to be refilled once every few years.

Blaze had been careful not to get too trigger-happy. Like any energy source, the danger was if that energy was released all at once, namely in the form of an explosion. Blaze didn't strike him as the kind of guy that was willing to blow himself to Kingdom Come for the sake of a win. It wasn't much of a victory if he didn't get to walk away from it. He was still frustrated by the fact Blaze had beaten him again. He understood that he was good, but that just made him want to beat him all the more. It wasn't as though he wasn't up to a challenge. He'd fought the final boss in Dark Souls no less than fifty times before he finally beat him. It might not be the most noble reason to want to beat Blaze, but he did know that sooner or later he'd be back and the Rangers would have to battle him and defeat him anyway. Nate had already explained the only way to get the real Blaze and Roxy back was to destroy their avatars. If it just so happened to mean settling his own score in the process, surely that was just a bonus, right?

He saw a patch of ground that had been disturbed, and looked to it. He remembered things had been going fine until that dog showed up.

"Why'd I freeze when that dog was digging?" He asked himself. He'd seen the dog, and he'd seen it digging, and then it turned towards him.

He felt himself getting a little dizzy even thinking about it. A lot of things were coming back to him. So much so, he could almost hear it. Getting louder and louder and…

He spun around to see a dog racing towards him, coming at him full-speed. It crossed the entire length of the parking bay in only a couple of seconds. Once more he saw the teeth flashing at him, and the barking that drilled right through him, kind of echoing through his whole body. It leapt up and down near him, and all he could do was pull away. His hands came up to defend himself as his heart pounded in his chest and his mouth started to go dry.

"GET BACK!" He screamed at it. "GET BACK!"

"Come away." He heard a half-hearted voice saying from a little way off. He looked up and saw a woman around his age squeezing through a gap in the fence. That had to be how the dog got into the complex in the first place. She walked towards the dog with no sense of urgency at all, clapping. "You don't need to worry, he's harmless! He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Devon's blood boiled hearing her say this, and before he could stop himself, he was yelling.

"THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" He yelled with an anger that was well beyond reason. She was at least twenty feet away from the dog, making absolutely no effort to come over or try to restrain it and simply telling him in an off-hand way that he was in no danger when it was jumping at him with those flesh-rending fangs bared? And…was she smiling? Was she laughing at him? Did she think it was funny? "THAT THING NEEDS TO BE ON A LEASH!"

"He was just saying hello!" She snorted as she patted her leg and called to the dog. It eventually left Devon alone and went back to its owner, at which Devon all but collapsed, needing to steady himself on a nearby wall. He had to try hard to catch his breath.

"Devon, are you alright?" Cruise asked him. "Your heart rate is extremely high."

"I'll…I'll be fine, just give me a second." Devon said as he tried to catch his breath. He could only think about the dog, once more, the teeth, the barking, all piercing straight through him. He could imagine it leaping at him, its fangs sinking through his flesh, dragging him down and…that was it, that was the common factor. But it didn't make sense to him. There'd been dogs in his neighbourhood growing up. While he was more of a cat person himself, he'd always seen people walking around with dogs. It had never bothered him before, so why was he now considering getting his sword or his blaster as soon as a dog started barking at him? What had changed in him now?

Just then, he heard what sounded a lot like lightning, but the skies were still clear. He looked up, seeing green energy in the sky. Before long, a giant robot appeared and dropped down, landing in the middle of the city. His communicator sounded.

"Devon, some kind of giant robot just landed in the city." She informed him.

"Yeah, I see it." Devon told her. "I'm not too far away."

"Zoey and Ravi aren't yet fit for battle. You'll have to use your Racer Zord to take him on." She told him.

"OK, but uh…I'm going to have to get somewhere quieter to morph." Devon said, looking around.

"Devon, it'll be fine." Commander Shaw assured him.

"Look, I know the Grid Battleforce staff know who we are, but there are a whole bunch of cops and other…"

"Devon, just do it!" She told him. Devon just nodded, before pulling out his Morph-X key. He jammed it into his morpher.

"Activate Beast Power!" He called out, morphing once more into the Red Ranger. It took a while for the pyrotechnics to subside, but once they had, he was keenly aware of the fact that everyone was staring his way. He just sighed. "Another problem for another time."

With that, he leapt onto Cruise and sped away to link up with his Racer Zord once it was deployed.

Back at Grid Battleforce, Commander Shaw was overseeing the new incursion.

"Nate, I've deployed the Racer Zord. Devon is taking on the robot as we speak." She told him. "Have you made any progress with the other Rangers?"

"I've done a diagnostic and found that the coding for the Ranger suits was partially corrupted." Nate informed her. "Because Evox had corrupted the first run, I didn't have time to check that all of his code was out of the system. It looks like some of the coding has been corrupted. It's not enough to give Evox access and corrupt the Rangers, but the system that gives them their animal DNA powers has been affected."

"Can you fix it?" She asked him.

"I'm not sure its something that can be fixed, its within the code itself which means…" Nate paused as he noticed something on the screen. "Commander, can you roll back the recording of the battle a moment?"

"What am I looking at Nate?" She asked him.

"Do you see the billboard on top of that apartment complex on Rosslyn Avenue?" He asked her.

"Yes, it's a dog food advert." She replied. "Why?"

"Because Devon showed an extreme fear reaction to the dog, he showed the same reaction again shortly before this battle." Nate informed her. "But here, he's looking straight at the billboard and absolutely nothing."

"I don't follow. How is that a bad thing?" She asked him.

"It's a phobia." Nate said as the pieces fell into place. "Just looking at a picture of a dog doesn't seem to set off his fight-or-flight reflex, he needs to feel like he's actually in danger. He needs something like a specific sight or a sound. There are some regions where farmers will use dogs to keep cheetahs out of their farming lands…I think Devon must have a phobia of dogs related to his corrupted cheetah DNA!"

He then turned to Zoey and Ravi.

"Jackrabbits have a metabolism that's far faster than that of humans. By comparison they need far more nutrition relative to their bodyweight to function." He said as he started looking around, finding his lunch box. He pulled out a carrot and stared at it for a moment. "It's not ideal but we're kind of desperate here. Zoey, eat this!"

Zoey bit into the carrot, and within moments she could feel her body starting to energise. Her brain was starting to function more rapidly too. There was a strange buzzing in her head as she devoured it.

"This…this is incredible, what's in this thing?" She asked.

"I'll…explain it later." Nate told her. "Ravi, you said you felt hot and then you got overly aggressive. It's related to your medulla oblongata, which regulates numerous physiological and emotional reactions in the body. When you use your gorilla strength you utilise that section of your brain more because its much more prominent in lower primates than it is in us."

"So, what do I do?" Ravi asked him.

"Just…try not to overheat." Nate told him as he started undoing Ravi's restraints. "I'll see if I can make some modifications to your suit that can help regulate your temperature, but for now if you start to overheat, you need to pull out and cool down if you can."

"I'll turn the A/C up full blast." Smash said as he helped Ravi out of the bench.

"Now, Devon needs you!" Nate told them. "Go go go!"


	30. The New Leader

Devon was in the city, battling with the Cyclodrone, trying to keep it from the nearby Morph-X tower. He didn't claim to have read much about Morph-X. He was kind of passingly aware of it because his dad kept mentioning it on the phone to a lot of his colleagues and because there was a lot of buzz about the release date, but he wasn't one normally to worry too much about the news. He did have some catching up to do on the others understanding in full the benefits of Morph-X, but he did know two things about it that were all he really needed to know right now. One was that it provided energy, the energy that powered all of his weapons and equipment and even his Ranger powers, and that it provided so much power that Blaze taking even a few barrels was considered cause for great concern on the base.

The other thing he knew was that the bad guys wanted it, and in his experience, when the bad guys he spent most of his time destroying in his video games wanted something, it was always a wise strategy to prevent them getting it. If a few barrels was enough to have the Commander worried about what kind of attacks they could power, the amount of Morph-X held in a whole tower, which stood as one of the tallest buildings in the entire city, was likely going to be the kind of bad news that didn't bear thinking about.

The other Rangers were already on the way. Zoey tugged on the controls, Jax's ears, trying to navigate her Zord towards the battle. Being able to fly, she could get to the battle a lot faster than Ravi could. It wasn't particularly hard to spot a couple of giant robots slugging it out back and forth in the middle of the city. So far, Devon seemed to be doing rather well. Some of the nearby buildings were damaged by stray shots and occasionally when one of them staggered into it, but none of them had collapsed yet, which was the best that anyone could hope for right now.

"I have eyes on the giant bot. Devon, I'm going to try and get you some room." Zoey told him as she locked on her weapons system. "Ravi, how far out are you?"

"I should be with you in seconds." He told her as she opened fire, forcing the Cyclodrone to fall back. It did give Devon some time to reassess his situation.

"Cruise, we're needing to up the ante." He stated. "Sabre."

"On it." Cruise told him. "Teleporting now."

"Zoey, keep him off me just a few seconds more." Devon told her.

"I'll do all I can." She replied, before the Cyclodrone managed to hit her guidance system with a stray shot.

"We're goin' down!" Jax called out. "Zoey, you should bail out!"

"Not just yet." Ravi said as he pulled his Zord into view. "Zoey, I'm coming underneath you."

"Ravi, my landings are not that great when I have…"

"I'll help!" Jax assured her. Zoey grabbed the controls and struggled with them, trying to steady her Zord's decent. It came down onto the back of Ravi's zord, right on the landing pad on its back. As it swung around, the two Zords fired on Cyclotron, knocking him clear.

"Nice save." Zoey said gratefully. "Thanks Ravi."

"Hey, hope this makes up for going bananas on you earlier." He replied wryly. Zoey had to do a double-take.

"Wait, was that…did you just tell a joke?" She asked. "In the middle of a battle!"

"Uh…"

"No…no, it's fine." She assured him. "I'd work on it, but it's fine."

Devon rushed in smashing his sabre into Cyclotron, letting them get clear. He could see the damage starting to appear on it and figured they were close.

"Guys, I think I have an idea, but I need a couple of seconds." Devon told them. "Think you can keep him busy?"

"The stabilizers are out, but we don't need them for Jackrabbit mode." Jax reminded Zoey.

"Hey, you're the expert." She said, punching the commands. Her Zord shifted form, leaping off the back of Ravi's. She leapt at it repeatedly, hammering into it with hard kicks.

"Mind if we cut in for a bit?" Ravi asked as his Zord converted into ape mode. It rushed Cyclotron, smashing into it repeatedly with its fists. As Ravi knocked the Cyclotron to the ground, Devon hit the communicator.

"Guys, I'm going to try that awesome blaster Nate made." He told them. "I'm in position, hold him!"

"Got his arms!" Smash said, coming above the Cyclotron's head and grabbing its arms, pulling them out to the side and pinning him down. The Jackrabbit Zord leapt onto its legs, landing on them.

"OK, we've got him pinned, but I don't know for how long!" Zoey told him. "Whatever you're doing, now would be the time!"

The Cheetah Zord launched itself into the air off the top of a skyscraper.

"Cheetah Beast Blaster!" He yelled as he powered it up. It appeared in his hands, and a targeting matrix activated in his helmet. He locked onto the damaged area of the Cyclotron, before channelling the power of the blaster. "Hyper STRIKE!"

He came down, the power of his blaster channelling through the blade. It came down in a double-handed thrust, piercing the Cyclotron's chest. It exploded beneath them, the bodies of their zords shielding the nearby buildings from the worst of the flying debris. As they all backed off, Devon looked to the scorched ground where the Cyclotron had been, before turning around, twirling his sword and standing in a dynamic pose. Ravi and Zoey just kind of watched him.

"Virus eliminated!" He declared.

"Uh…what was that?" Ravi asked.

"What?" He asked. "It's tradition, when you take down the bad guy you do a victory pose. It's in every beat-em-up since Street Fighter."

Zoey and Ravi just looked to each other on their monitors, before shrugging and joining in.

"Virus eliminated!" They chorused.

In the Cyber Dimension, Blaze, Roxy and Scrozzle all watched as the Rangers destroyed Cyclotron. They had been able to keep track of the battle on Scrozzle's computer network. They both turned towards Scrozzle as the robot exploded.

"Well, so much for the master weapons designer." Blaze said sarcastically. "Your creation FAILED!"

"I have a feeling Master Evox isn't going to be too happy to know that your Gigadrone just got turned into scrap metal." Roxy added. Scrozzle just tapped some keys, looking through the footage.

"You're just lacking in forward thinking." Scrozzle replied. "I've compiled a lot of data on your Rangers…"

"We don't want data; we want them DESTROYED!" Blaze snapped. Scrozzle just turned to glare at him.

"As I was saying, I've compiled a lot of data that will prove useful in future battles." Scrozzle carried on. "Now that we have more Morph-X, we can power much more deadly weapons. Once we've stockpiled some more Morph-X, we can see about launching a full-on assault. It's a little thing called strategy, not that I'm sure you know what that is."

"Careful." Blaze warned him.

"Boys, why don't you settle down?" Roxy asked them, looking to the supply of Morph-X they'd managed to steal. "We've got some Morph-X, and lost very little into the bargain. All we need is a fresh target, and perhaps, dare I say, a woman's touch?"

Back at Grid Battleforce Headquarters, Zoey was in her room taking a shower. They had returned to the base, but since Commander Shaw now had a lot of calls to field from the press regarding the whole incident, she had dismissed them until the following morning for debriefing.

The city still had a lot of questions, between the incident at Grid Battleforce Headquarters, the details of which they'd still never clarified on beyond saying it was an 'incident in the lab', and now having robots attacking the city and the first public sightings of the Power Rangers, there were a lot of people who had a lot of questions.

Zoey couldn't face the news right now. She had been unable to avoid it growing up, since her mom was still trying to catch her big break, she'd been around the business a lot more than many people who actually wanted to become journalists. Still, it was a different matter when she actually was the news, and while she had a feeling, she would have to face it sooner or later, right now she just couldn't bring herself to listen to the television.

After getting cleaned up, she headed for the medical bay. When she got there, she found that Ravi was already there. For a moment, she considered leaving, but he happened to turn and notice her. He had a book in his hand, which he hurriedly tucked away.

"Zoey." He said as he noticed her. "You came to check on them too?"

"In a way." She replied, gesturing to Roxy's pod. She had so far avoided the subject, but seeing the way he was looking at her, she figured now was the time to explain to him at least some of the situation. "She's my roomie."

"You're Roxy's roommate?" He asked her. Zoey just nodded. "I knew she had a roommate, but I was so wrapped up in my own stuff that…I'm sorry, you probably want to be alone with her. I'll just go."

"You don't have to." Zoey assured him. Ravi though didn't look like he was swayed. He was gathering up his things to go, leaving Zoey knowing there was only one thing she could say to him that would make him stay. "Ravi, I know."

"You know what?" He asked her. Zoey just gestured between him and the pod.

"I know that you two were together." She told him. He just looked back to the pod as Zoey sat with him.

"I can't believe she's not here." He told her. "She should be here. I'm the one that messed up, I'm the one that should be in…"

"Ravi, that isn't going to help anyone." Zoey told him. "And it's not what she'd want either. She was the absolute best."

"Yeah, she really was." Ravi agreed. Zoey put a hand on his shoulder sadly.

"Ravi, I just want you to know, it was nothing personal when I said I wanted to be the leader." Zoey assured him. "In fact, if I'm honest, I never really wanted it that much."

"I don't understand." He said in response.

"I know how much Roxy loved you. She used to talk about you all the time, and frankly, I could tell how much you meant to her." Zoey assured him. "She meant a lot to me too. She was the one that did the most to try and help me become a Ranger. She gave me books, she helped me train. I almost felt like I let her down most of all when I washed out."

She then looked straight to Ravi.

"I know what she meant to you, and the way you've been since she was put in this thing, I guess in my own, really not well-thought-out way, I thought that I'd be helping you if I took that responsibility off your hands." Zoey explained to him. "I thought if I helped you then, in a way, it'd be something I could do for Roxy."

She took another deep breath.

"But, after today, I'm not so sure I'd be such a great choice." Zoey told him. "I kind of screwed up."

"You weren't the only one who screwed up." Ravi reminded her. "But thanks. I appreciate what you were trying to do."

He looked to the pod, seeing Roxy lying under the glass, looking like she was lost in some blissful dream.

"If I'm honest, I guess I was a little distracted." He agreed. "I just…I just can't stop thinking about her, about what happened between us. The last thing I said to her was that we couldn't be together. I just can't get out of my head the fact that she might still think…that I might never get to tell her how much I love her."

"She knew." Zoey assured him. Ravi turned towards her.

"Zoey, I think you might have been right." Ravi told her. "While I'm like this, I don't know if I'm the best choice to lead the team."

"Ravi…"

"I mean, I know I've got the training, but right now my head and my heart are all messed up. All I'm thinking about is Roxy, and while that's the case, until I can straighten that out, I think I'd be a liability as the leader." He concluded. Zoey just took his hands in her own.

"So, if you don't want to be the leader…?" She asked. Ravi just nodded.

"He did come up with that strategy to beat the giant robot." Ravi reminded her. "And he was the one that held it together in that battle when our weaknesses messed us up."

"He did kind of kick our asses about the whole bickering thing too." Zoey agreed. "And we kind of deserved it too."

"He might not be up to speed as a Ranger, but that we can teach him." Ravi stated. "But those kinds of instincts? You can't teach that."

"So, we're agreed?" Zoey asked him. Ravi just nodded.

"I think so." He answered, before turning his attention back to Roxy. "So, you knew the whole time?"

"Yeah, I just…didn't feel like there was a good time to let you know." Zoey answered. "Besides, you made my best friend really happy and that's always good by me."

Ravi furrowed his brows as a thought came to him.

"I could sometimes hear the shower in the other room in the dorm." He said, before his tone became rather panicked. "Oh God! Does that mean you heard…?"

"Uh…yeah, let's just…not talk about that again." Zoey answered.

In another part of the city, Mayor Daniels was on the phone, pacing in his living room when Devon got home. As he pulled up in the driveway on Cruise, Mayor Daniels saw him dismounting and came out of the front door, storming towards him. Devon could already see he wasn't happy.

"Dad…"

"Devon!" He barked at him. "Where the devil have you been? I've been calling all the police stations, all the hospitals looking for you!"

"Dad, I'm fine." Devon assured him.

"You're fine? What happened to you? Where have you been? Don't you know the city was attacked?" He asked him. "I was worried sick and…wait…where did you get this motorcycle?"

"Dad, it's fine, really." Devon said to him. "I was…out getting this bike. Some guy gave me a really great deal and I needed to go pick it up today."

"A motorcycle?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "I've been going out of my mind worrying if you were injured or worse and you were out buying a motorcycle!"

He just shook his head in disbelief and headed into the house, dialling his phone. Devon knew that as Mayor he probably had a lot of people wanting to speak to him. In the short time since the launch of Morph-X, the city had been attacked, and the public debut of the Rangers no doubt was going to have to be addressed. He didn't mean to make his dad worry, there wasn't anything he could do about the fact he was caught up in the battle. If his dad had been calling all the hospitals and police stations looking for him, he had to have been putting off a lot of his constituents who would have a lot of questions for their mayor.

He just shook his head and went inside. The only saving grace was that his dad likely had way too much on his plate right now to give him a lecture on how he could have been hurt or worse. Devon had his battle earlier in the day, and right now, his dad had his own battle to fight.

The next day, the Rangers assembled in the Command Centre. Commander Shaw came into the room, interrupting them as they were talking about the battle. Ravi and Zoey both immediately stood to attention, while it took a moment for Devon to realise his mistake and do likewise.

"At ease." Commander Shaw stated. "Rangers, I'm very concerned. It now looks as though not only are Blaze and Roxy able to come back, but they now have powerful new allies to help them."

The Rangers all nodded in agreement.

"We also have the issue of keeping ahead of the press." She said as she slapped a newspaper down in front of them. It had pictures from the Zord battle. "I'm going to be spending rather a lot of time in the next few days in press conferences to brief them about the new team of Rangers, but as for overall performance, the mission was successful."

They were a little relieved to hear her say that, but at the same time, they also knew themselves that there was a lot to make up. When it came to missions, there were successes and there were successes. Just because they had managed to keep the city safe didn't mean that they hadn't been caught very under-prepared. There was a lot of damage within the cities, and a lot of hospital admissions, not to mention the fact that Blaze had gotten away with so much Morph-X. They'd kept the city safe for now, but there was still a lot to worry about.

"Now, we were hoping that we would get to introduce the city to the Rangers and the technology that would be defending them in a much less…practical…way, but we don't really have much of a choice in the matter." Commander Shaw told them. "Now, there is one final thing we have to discuss. The issue of who should lead the team."

"Actually, before you do, there's something I'd like to say." Zoey interrupted her. Commander Shaw just paused, looking a little interested in what Zoey had to say. "Ravi and I have been talking and Devon did a great job."

"Yeah, he really helped out when our weaknesses kicked in." Ravi agreed. "And he was pretty quick to rattle our heads together when we needed it."

"Guys, what are you saying?" Devon asked.

"You were also the one that came up with the strategy to beat that giant robot thing." Zoey told him, before looking to Ravi and nodding. "So, we talked about it and…we think Devon should lead the team."

Commander Shaw just looked to them without saying a word.

"Guys, I don't know what to say." Devon stammered as he heard them. Zoey leaned in.

"Say, I'd love to guys." She recommended. He had never wanted the leadership position, but to hear both of his team mates telling him they wanted him to lead, he was a little taken aback.

"I'd love to guys!" He agreed. Commander Shaw just smiled. She had seen all the events of the previous day and had many of the same thoughts. She too believed if it wasn't for his mind being distracted by the situation with Roxy, Ravi would likely be her top choice for leader, but Devon had shown some pretty remarkable skills, and more importantly he had the backing of his team, something that many other leaders took a lot longer to foster.

"Then it's settled." Commander Shaw said. "You're dismissed."

"Hey, Devon, you want to hit the gym?" Ravi asked. "Some of those moves of yours are pretty sick, want to put them to the test?"

"Yeah, sure." Devon answered. "Zoey, you coming?"

"I'm afraid not, I have something I really want to work on." She told them. "I'll be along later OK?"

Later, after checking on the laundry to make sure things were running smoothly, Zoey headed to the lab. Nate was working on something while Ben and Betty had a project they were working on in the corner.

"Nate, can I talk to you about something?" Zoey asked him. Ben and Betty's heads jerked up, hearing this. Nate just looked to her.

"Sure, what can I help you with?" He asked her.

"Well, you know…" She started to say, before Ben and Betty scurried out of the lab. She and Nate looked around in time to see only a chair spinning around and their experiment left lying.

"What was that about?" Nate asked.

"Beats me." Zoey replied, before looking to him. "Um, can we…do you have a minute to sit down?"

"I guess so." Nate answered as he gestured over to the side of the lab. He went to go and get another chair while Zoey went to sit down on the one Ben had been using moments before. She put down her bag, fetching out a book as Nate came to her.

"OK, what's on your mind?" He asked her.

"Well, you know how we worked together on those invisible fences?" She asked him.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Well, I heard through the grapevine that even though they're working, traffic in the city's getting really bad." Zoey told him. "I've heard there's rumours that Mayor Daniels is considering bulldozing the woods."

"What?" Nate asked. "That's awful!"

"Yeah, I was trying to think of ways they could reduce traffic in the city." Zoey told him. "I know a lot of cities have communal bike schemes, but I thought maybe more people would be inclined to use them if we could make them motorised to make it easier to go long distances."

She opened up her book to a very rough design she was working on.

"I don't know how it'd work really, but I thought that's where you could help out." Zoey suggested. "And with Morph-X, we wouldn't even need to worry about the carbon output of charging electrical motors."

"Morph-X bikes?" He asked, starting to look over the designs. "Interesting, you've been thinking about this for a while?"

"Well, the neighbourhood I come from not a lot of people have cars." She said nervously. "The public transport system isn't that great, so I always thought some kind of transport system that would let people travel the city for little cost would be really helpful."

"Yeah…yeah, I think I could make something work with this." Nate told her, getting a pencil and looking at the design. "Do you mind?"

Zoey just shook her head. She was nervous enough to bring the idea to Nate in the first place. He was incredibly busy with all the tech he had to work on, but she did love working with him before, and if she could get his help to make her idea work, it could possibly save the woods and also solve a lot of the city's transport problems. Nate was making a few notes and a couple of alterations to her sketch.

Nate was amazed to see Zoey bringing him another of her ideas. She cared about the world every bit as much as he did, something that was pretty rare to find in the world. Even with her responsibilities on the base and as a Ranger, she was still trying to find ways to improve the city.

"I think if we alter this here, and maybe do this…" He said, making alterations to the design. Zoey was fascinated by what he was doing. She had vague ideas of what she wanted her designs to do, but she just didn't have the know-how or the skills to turn them into a reality. In a lot of ways, she was a little surprised that Nate even gave them a second thought. She had worried if he'd think of them in the same way an adult would look at a kid's macaroni picture or basic Lego building. She was elated that he was even giving it any thought. Without thinking about it, she leant in to get a closer look, bringing herself closer to him.

"That looks really nice." She commented.

"Functional too, if we fit it this way it'll make the structure stronger without adding weight." He explained. "It's just basic…"

He looked up, only to find her eyes almost directly locked with his own. They both stared at each other for a moment, before snapping back.

"This could work…"

"Thanks, I can…" Zoey started to say, before her hand caught a sealed beaker, knocking it off the table. It smashed on the floor by her feet. "I'm sorry, I'll clean…"

Just then an alarm sounded, and red lights flashed.

"What's going on?" She asked. There was a kind of mist shooting out the ceiling and glass doors slammed shut, sealing the lab. "Nate?"

"Nate, I'm seeing reports of an alarm from the lab." Commander Shaw said over the communicator. Nate answered it nervously.

"That's an affirmative." He told her. "Um…something was knocked over in the lab and…it triggered the contamination protocols."

"Contamination?" Zoey asked. That didn't sound good.

"How many of you are in there?" She asked.

"Uh…just me and Zoey." Nate answered.

"Then I'll have a hazmat team come to deliver supplies through an air-lock." She informed him. "In the meantime, we'll monitor the situation. Medical will be updated."

"Nate…I'm really freaking out here!" Zoey said in a panic. "What just happened?"

"Whatever was in that beaker, it's triggered the lab's contamination protocols." Nate explained to her. "It's possibly nothing, but until a thorough scan of the atmosphere can be done to ensure what's been released isn't harmful and we can be tested…we're in quarantine."

"Quarantine?" She gulped. Nate just nodded nervously.


	31. Social Lack of Distance

Nate tried hard to concentrate on his work while Zoey sat in the corner, drumming her fingers and tapping her foot on the floor while she waited for supplies.

Quarantine was no joke. The lab worked with a lot of hazardous materials, and while Nate did his best to limit his work with materials that could do any lasting harm, his work with Morph-X being the ultimate example of his commitment to ending the world's energy crisis without adding to the world's pollution problem or any form of harmful radiation build-up, occasionally his work would bring him in fleeting contact with materials that could potentially be harmful until he refined them into a safe state. The lab had a very strict quarantine protocol, one even he couldn't over-ride, which was designed to contain any inadvertent leaks. The air vents had sensitive equipment in them that checked for any unknown materials, and while it was possible sometimes those were benign, the lockdown could only be over-ridden from outside the lab with clearance from either Commander Shaw or General Burke, and even then they would only do so once the analysis of the suspect materials confirmed it presented no threat to life.

However, right now, he couldn't really think about what kind of agent had been released in the lab. He couldn't concentrate on the diagnostics he was looking over, or the new weapons designs he was considering for the Rangers. Right now, all he could think about was the fact that Zoey was now sitting only a few feet away, and they would be stuck together now and he had no idea when they would be able to leave.

He felt strangely energised, but at the same time a little queasy whenever he was around her. His stomach wouldn't settle, his chest felt tight, and he rambled. He was not a rambler; he was always very precise in everything he did. Such was the nature of his work that he just got into a habit of being extremely precise and ordered in everything he did. His shirt was always tucked in, he always styled his hair the same way, he got every pair of glasses he'd ever owned from the exact same optician…he was the kind of person who would explain at length why a killer whale was in fact not a whale but a dolphin by a painstaking rundown of all the scientific criteria of definition. He could be long-winded but never babbling. But whenever Zoey was around, he found his intelligence seemed to fall faster than a rock subject to the gravity on Jupiter.

There were times he did want to spend more time with her, but he was always grateful for the fact there was an escape route. If he was starting to sound like too much of an idiot, he could always claim he was needed somewhere else on the base, but now he was stuck, and she wasn't going anywhere.

"Does it matter at all that we both feel fine?" Zoey asked. The thought of spending this long around Nate was just a nightmare. She longed for the days when she didn't actually know that he was one of her idols and was just some random person that she bumped into on her first day at Grid Battleforce. Zoey wanted more than anything to change the world. While her mom saw the media as the way to do that, exposing those in power and pressurising people of influence into taking the right path, Zoey always felt like a more practical path was needed. She saw how time and time again large energy companies were fined and sued, only for them to issue a limp, half-hearted apology, pay a token fine and promise to change, only to go right back to doing the exact same thing. Far too many people grew up in those industries and had earned their fortunes doing business that way to be convinced to change, while many in positions of political power relied on donations from them to dare stand up to them. Waiting for the status quo to change was no longer an option. If the world was going to change, people had to do it themselves.

She did like science, but she was in no way a scientist. It was kind of hard to study to get into the sciences when there were times, she needed to decide whether she needed to replace her shoes before they fell apart or help her mom pay the rent. The option of higher education was laughably out of reach without some kind of financial aid, something she hoped signing up would give her. But since finding out that Nate was Nathaniel…she kind of became more aware of what she was saying around him and how she acted around him. Now, she was worried that he'd see her as some kind of child that threw out suggestions, they had no idea how to make a reality.

"I'm afraid not." Nate sighed. "The incubation period for many contagions and toxins could be anything from hours to weeks."

"Weeks?" Zoey shrieked. She was completely mortified by the thought she might be forced to be around him for weeks. It was bad enough when she had to second-guess everything she did, what she said to him for a matter of a few minutes.

"I'm hoping the chem analysis will reveal the foreign substance to be benign." He responded hopefully. It really was the best chance for them getting out of quarantine as early as possible. They were, of course, able to test themselves, but as he had already said it was possible anything that affected them might not show up for a couple of weeks. The best-case scenario was to hope that the substance in the beaker had been harmless to begin with. "In the meantime, I guess we're just stuck with each other."

He cringed, he wished he hadn't said that. Looking at Zoey's expression, she looked like she found the prospect just as enticing. He took off his lab coat and hung it up, before heading to a control unit.

"Are you checking the results?" She asked him.

"Not exactly." He replied, pressing a few keys. One of the lab units spun around, revealing a large, comfortable looking couch on the other side. Zoey smiled.

"Wow, that's…that's something." She said cheerfully. "I guess even a genius needs to just kick back once in a while."

She rolled her eyes. Had she really just said that? Nate just chuckled.

"I wish I could say it was just about 'kicking back'." He responded. "In fact, it's just a necessity. It wouldn't be the first time I worked so late that I fell asleep in the lab."

Of course, he did, she thought. He was always working, always thinking. He was changing the world in ways she could not even dream of. She looked to the couch and could imagine him curled up on it…was it hot in there? Why was she getting hot? The lab was air conditioned!

"Room service!" Ben called out, pounding on the glass door.

"Oh, thank God!" Zoey called out, grateful for the distraction. She noticed the way Nate was looking at her and had to quickly think of something. "Uh…I mean…I'm just hungry that's all. Probably down to that metabolism thing."

"Well, we'll bring you a proper meal later, but in the meantime, we have some snacks, and some drinks." Ben said, setting down a little box of items. "There's also some movies in there to pass the time."

"Ben, is there any word when we're getting out of here?" Zoey asked. He started to back away from the door at which another closed.

"Sorry, I've got to…" He said, before scurrying away. There was a spray, before the first door opened. It was an air lock, designed to prevent anything getting out from the lab. Nate picked up the box and looked into it.

"So, we have chips, some dips, some soda and…Star Wars." Nate said as he looked through the collection. "The whole series." He started banging on the door.

"Ben, this isn't any good!" Nate called out.

"Nate, it's…"

"No, you said you were hungry, you need something nutritious!" He told her. "Ben, BEN!"

"Nate, it's…it's fine really." Zoey assured him. "It's just…hunger. I don't feel wobbly or anything, it's not like before, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He asked her. "I'd not recommend it but I have some carrot sticks in my lunch…"

"I'll be fine, I promise." Zoey assured him, putting a hand on his arm. He was so thoughtful and kind to worry about her. She suddenly became aware of the fact she was touching him and pulled away. "Um…Nate…why are you not suggesting I eat carrots?"

"I'm sorry?" He asked her.

"That's the second time you said you wouldn't suggest I eat carrots." She told him. "I thought jackrabbits liked carrots."

"Well…they do, but…" He started to explain. "Carrots are full of a very high concentration of sugar, way higher than is advisable for jackrabbits to eat. It will give them energy, but in the same way as I'd get energy if I pounded half a dozen cans of energy drinks."

"Wow, really?" She laughed, remembering the last time she'd needed to do an all-night study session after working and had indeed pounded energy drinks like her life depended on them. It had worked, but to say the results weren't pretty would be an understatement. "So, I guess all those cartoons lied."

"I'd say that Bugs is a problem addict." Nate giggled childishly, so much so that he inadvertently snorted. He saw her staring at him, wondering what she was thinking. They both stared at each other for far too long, before Nate finally grabbed one of the DVD's. "So…should we go by chronological order in franchise? Or the order of release?"

"I think seeing the whole story unfolding as it's meant to would be interesting." Zoey answered. "Plus, I know it's not the done thing to admit but…I kind of liked Jar Jar."

"Phantom Menace it is." He replied as he set up one of the monitors. "Pick us out some chips while I get this set up. I'll let you pick the flavour."

Meanwhile, in another room, Ben scurried in as Betty was watching on the monitor, while speaking into her communicator.

"Yes, Commander Shaw, the analysis is still running." Betty assured her. "I'll let you know when we know anything."

She turned off the communicator as Ben came in.

"Betty, how did you talk me into this?" He whined fearfully, hearing her lie so brazenly to the Commander. Betty just shrugged.

"I'm persuasive." She responded. "Besides, we're just continuing Roxy's good work, we owe it to her!"

"Oh, we're so getting kicked out if the Commander ever finds out!" He whimpered as he paced around.

"Relax bro, it's not like we released anything that's actually dangerous, they'll just get some alone time." Betty assured him as she turned her attention to the monitors and pulled out a bag of chips. "And the best bet is, we get to watch!"

In the cyber dimension, Roxy was going over some of the weapons schematics when Scrozzle found her on his computer.

"Hey, keep your nose out of other's…"

"Scrozzie, please, you need to learn to share!" She said in a sweet tone as she just shoved him away. "I'm just familiarising myself with how all this works."

"You wouldn't even begin to understand…" He started to say, before she pulled a charged key out of the computer. "Hey, how did you do that?"

"What can I say? I've always been a quick study." She told him. "So, all I need to do is stick this in any object and it makes a Robotron. How very Lord Zedd of you!"

"What can I say? Even though we displaced him, I can't say he didn't have SOME good ideas." Scrozzle admitted. "He did have some success after all."

"Until your King went boom." She reminded him gleefully, before putting the key back into the computer and de-powering it. "Now, there's no point in leaving this lying around until we come up with a nice, soft target to hit."

"Soft target?" Scrozzle scoffed. "You sound like you're afraid to confront the Rangers."

"Oh no, I want to confront them alright." She said with a little smile. "But I just want to mess with them a little first."

"Mess with them?" Scrozzle asked. "What for?" Roxy just shrugged.

"It's just what I do." She answered.

Back at Grid Battleforce, Nate shut off the DVD player as he took out the DVD.

"What do you say we take a little break before we watch Solo?" He asked her.

"That would be a good idea." She answered as they heard a knock on the glass. "Oh, it looks like dinner's arrived! That's really nice timing!"

The door opened, and inside they found a trolley, set out with two dishes under closhes. The cutlery looked a lot fancier than the stuff in the mess hall, and was wrapped in cloth napkins.

"Wow, this is a step up from the mess hall." Zoey commented.

"It was stew day." Nate reminded her, making a face of disgust, which made Zoey laugh. "I think anything would be better than that."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to ask what's in that from now on." She said to him as they took the dishes to a nearby table and sat down with it.

"It's alright, I've already started to work on a diet plan for you that should satisfy your nutritional needs." He told her. Zoey looked up at him. "You know…make sure…"

"That's really sweet." She answered. "You…you're really putting a lot of effort into this."

"I just feel really badly about the weaknesses. I feel like…like I'm somehow responsible, like I should have known…"

"Hey, no one can think of everything, not even you." Zoey assured him. "We know it's not your fault."

"Thanks, that's really nice of you to say." Nate replied as they opened up their meals. "Beef stroganoff…one of my favourites!"

"It is?" Zoey asked him. "I don't think I've ever tried it."

"You're in for a real treat then." Nate answered with a smile. Zoey pointed to some parts on the bench. "What's that stuff?"

"Oh, it's just leftovers from my latest idea." He told her. "I was working on an upgrade for…"

He tailed off as a thought occurred to him.

"You know, with those parts, we should be able to make a concept version of your Morph-X bike motor." He suggested. "Maybe once we're done with the movies…"

"You think we can make it?" She screeched. Nate saw her excitement, and the embarrassment that followed, and couldn't resist trying to make her feel better about her outburst.

"You know what? Tinkering sounds like fun." He told her as they began their dinner. He furrowed his brows. "Am I crazy or does it seem darker in here?"

"We've probably just been shut up too long." She answered with a shrug. "We're just getting used to the light."

"Yeah, that's probably it." Nate agreed.

In the surveillance room, Ben looked to Betty as she fiddled with the controls.

"Betty, what are you doing?" He asked her.

"Just a little mood lighting." She replied with a wicked grin.

In another part of the city, Muriel was sitting at her desk, staring at a blank computer screen, trying to think of something to write. She had believed she was close, so close to getting the break of her career when her source at Grid Battleforce was discovered. She had been sure there was something going on there that was too good to be true. People that promised to change the world often had an agenda. Somehow the changes they wanted to make always ended up being in the best interests of only a few if the surface was scratched hard enough.

The fact she'd found out that Morph-X was derived from the Morphing Grid was something she was sure people would be worried about. It had been almost 20 years since there were last Power Rangers on Earth, and coincidentally there had been no monsters in all that time either. It was always hotly debated if the presence of that power, the presence of the Rangers was in fact the protection from evil that everyone thought it was, or if it just attracted more problems than it caused.

She'd been hoping to scoop the world, but finding her leak had forced Grid Battleforce to open up to the public ahead of time. Now, she no longer had a news story, she had just one of many recounts of the information the public already had. There had been a monster attack, which had once again opened up the debate of the risk the Morphing Grid posed, but the benefits of Grid Battleforce were already being felt. People were switching to Morph-X energy already in droves, seeing their energy and fuel costs plummeting. The average electricity bill quoted by Morph-X companies was mere cents on the dollar compared to traditional suppliers, and while it would be some time before the first Morph-X cars rolled off the production line, pre-orders were racking up faster than anyone could keep up with. Hardly surprising when the average gas station was selling at close to twenty dollars a gallon and Morph-X was being quoted at only a couple of dollars for enough to power a car for a whole year!

The news cycle was dominated by Grid Battleforce, and all the earth-shattering promises it had made which they seemed to be delivering. The markets were shifting by the hour and it looked like the few that had believed in Morph-X from the beginning were about to turn into by far the wealthiest people on the planet within only a few weeks. But that was what was occupying the middle pages, the mid-broadcast stuff. The thing that was getting the most attention was the new Rangers.

For almost twenty years, almost a whole generation had known the Power Rangers only as the stories their parents told them. The kind of thing that had existed, but now was more entertainment, with little relevance to the real world. But in one day, an entire new generation had been introduced to super heroes right in their own city.

The details were still sketchy. People were still in awe to think that a new team had been created. There were some already pointing out the fact that they had shown up along with the robot that wrecked a significant portion of downtown Coral Harbour, while others were praising Grid Battleforce for having the forethought to see the potential danger and create Rangers to prepare for it. There was, of course, one over-riding question though. Who were they?

It was somewhat of a tradition that the Rangers' identities were hidden. The Lightspeed team had been the most notable exception, being a Government funded team whose identities were always a matter of public record. Grid Battleforce had already given a press release that said the Rangers' identities would remain hidden, citing the safety of their families.

Muriel looked to a magazine with a photograph of the new Rangers on it. So far there hadn't even been official press shots released by Grid Battleforce, only stills taken from security footage at the distribution centre. What were they hiding? Why was so much done to keep the Rangers under wraps? That was when she finally got her headline.

"Do real heroes wear masks?"

Back at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Nate and Zoey were working on the motor. Nate was turning it over in his hands.

"It's crude, but as a concept model it will work very well." He told her. "I'll have access to all my materials once we're out of here."

"That's great, I'd really like to see the city consider this." Zoey answered. "I know traffic is a real problem here, but I really don't want to see more roads."

"No, we don't need more of them." He agreed.

"Nate, since we're here…there's something else I've been curious about." She said as she leant on one of the work benches. "Devon said that he morphed in front of a whole bunch of people."

"Yes, that is the case." Nate answered.

"But…no one has reported it in the news." Zoey pointed out. "How is that?"

Nate looked to her and then held up a hand.

"Let me show you something." He said, pulling something up on the monitor.

"It's a playing card." Zoey said. "The Queen of Hearts."

"Yes, it is." He replied. "Now, I want you to look straight at that screen."

Zoey did as she was told, but was stunned by a flash of light, following which she was staring at a blank screen.

"So, what was on the screen?" He asked her.

"Was there something on the screen?" She asked him. Nate just smiled.

"There's a certain frequency of radiation that affects the memory centre of the brain, causing it to kind of…glitch out for a few moments." He explained.

"I don't get it." Zoey responded.

"Watch this footage of Devon morphing." He said, pulling it up. "Tell me what you notice."

Zoey watched, finding herself drawn to the smoke and light of the morph, after which the Red Ranger was standing there. She shook her head.

"Wow, that was…what?" She asked. "I know that's Devon but…"

She smiled as the penny dropped.

"You put that radiation into the morph sequence to cause people to forget what they saw before the morph!" She surmised. He just nodded in confirmation.

"Affirmative." He confirmed. "There's also a specific mix of sound and light in there that compels people to look…"

"So, they stare right at the memory flash." Zoey concluded. Nate looked really impressed at how quickly she put it together. He tapped his head.

"You don't think all those pyrotechnics were just for show, did you?" He asked her. She just looked at him unconvinced. "Well…OK, there might have been a part of me that thought it was really cool, but…I figured if we're going to draw attention to ourselves, why not let that work for us?"

"That is…that's brilliant!" She shrieked. "You're amazing!"

"Well, I just wanted to do my bit to help you keep your identities safe." Nate told her. "I mean, it doesn't matter much to our enemies since Blaze and Roxy already know who you are, but at least you won't have to worry about fans swarming you when you go to the gym or something."

Nate started yawning, at which Zoey grabbed onto him.

"Nate, are you alright?" She asked him.

"Just a little tired." He yawned. "I just…I'll be fine."

"No, come on." Zoey told him, guiding him to the couch. "You're taking a rest, no questions!"

"But…"

"No buts mister!" She warned him. "Besides, we can always watch Solo before we talk about inflating those mattresses for the night, right?"

"That sounds good." He agreed, heading to the couch as Zoey put on the DVD.

The following morning, Zoey started to come to, waking up from a nice, restful sleep. She looked around and had to remind herself she wasn't in her room. She was still stuck in the lab. She could see the device on the workbench that she'd been working on with Nate. It was a concept model for the motor she wanted to put into bikes that could be put throughout the city for people to borrow rather than drive their cars everywhere. She smiled as she saw it, remembering Nate taking the time to explain to her how it worked, show her how he was putting it together. She didn't understand all of it, but he had the patience to try and teach her. She pulled her blanket around her…only to realise it wasn't a blanket…unless blankets suddenly had bones in them! Seeing a hand, she turned slowly over, finding Nate with her. They'd gone to rest on the couch and must have fallen asleep.

She shrieked as she got up, waking up Nate. Before long he was in a panic too, realising where he was. They both gulped and looked to each other.

"I'm…I'm so sorry…"

"Yeah, we were tired." Zoey rushed out.

"Yes, tired, sooo tired!" Nate agreed.

"Um…sorry I screamed." Zoey said as she suddenly started to straighten herself out. Nate started tucking his shirt into his trousers, something not a lot of guys did these days. Most people didn't bother unless they were dressing formally, but Nate just did it by habit, something Zoey had noticed and something she found kind of adorable… 'what the hell is the matter with me?'

"It's OK, I understand, it took me a moment to remember where we were too." Nate assured her. Just then, the door opened and Commander Shaw came in.

"Commander!" Nate yelped, surprised by her presence. "What are you doing here?"

"The analysis has come back, and the substance was not harmful." She assured them. "I'm not even sure why it would have triggered the quarantine alert."

"Yeah, it's…just one of those things, right?" Zoey replied. "I'm just going to get cleaned up and get to work."

With that, Zoey scurried out of the lab as quickly as she could. Commander Shaw just looked to Nate.

"Get cleaned up." She told him. "We've all got work to do."

"Yes, Commander." He replied as he went back to his room.


	32. Green Spaces

Early one morning, Devon was in the park with his best friend Mike, sparring with him. It was quite a show for anyone that was passing by. Mike was not only a skilled Martial Artist, but also a highly acrobatic young man, with a heavy interest in gymnastics and free-running, which he blended into his own personal style. He had always wanted to fight like those heroes he saw in video games and movies, but his father had not been anywhere near so flamboyant and he found that most dojos were a lot more straightforward in their teachings, most seeing all the flips, rolls, cartwheels etc. as something that telegraphed rather than helped attacks. The fact was in practice, most Martial Arts were a far cry from what he saw on the screen.

It took a while, but he did find a way to not only make his flair for the dramatic and fancy into an effective style, but actually found that at times he could make it an advantage. As much as the theatrics could telegraph where an opponent was going, it also threw off a lot of people who generally only practiced against others who trained the same way.

It wasn't like they were in bad company either. Since the Rangers had shown up, anyone seeing a couple of people tumbling around, throwing kicks and punches at each other just presumed that they were fans. They'd seen others doing similar things on their way there, and while Devon's dad had strictly speaking told Devon he couldn't take lessons from Mike anymore, he didn't state specifically that they couldn't work out together.

Mike staggered back as he took a kick to the chest and just laughed.

"Good one man." He complimented his friend as they both stopped to catch their breath. "Water break?"

"Absolutely." Devon replied as they wandered off to the side to take a seat. Mike just looked to him as he took a drink.

"So, you're really not going to talk about it are you?" He asked.

"Talk about what?" Devon asked.

"The fact you're the Red Ranger." Mike said matter-of-factly, causing Devon to splutter water all over the place.

"You think…you think I'm…?" Devon said nervously, forcing a laugh. While he hadn't told Mike, he somehow didn't think that would matter too much to Commander Shaw. It was still fresh in his mind the fact she had threatened to have him imprisoned in a Government black site for the rest of his days if he ever told anyone who he or the other Rangers were. "Dude, I think you should really lay off the comic books."

"Really, it's gonna be like that is it?" Mike asked him. "Come on man, you don't think I'd recognise my own moves?"

Devon wanted to answer, but he could see that no matter what he said, Mike wasn't going to buy it. The guy had seen every super hero movie, read every comic and played every video game imaginable. More than that, he was intimately familiar with his own style of fighting. The fact he only had one student really didn't leave a lot of suspects.

"Dude, I have precisely one student, I literally taught you all you know." Mike reminded him. Devon just rolled his eyes.

"Alright, but keep it down, will you?" He asked as Mike punched the air and congratulated himself on guessing who the Red Ranger was so quickly. "I'm being serious, my Commander is like…crazy serious about the 'secret' part of secret identity. As in, she's already threatened to have me disappear off the face of the Earth if I tell anyone."

"Dude, I know a real super hero, that's like a million times better than knowing freaking Spider-Man, Batman and Iron Man combined!" Mike told him as Devon looked around, desperately trying to see if anyone was listening. "Look, I promise, no one will hear anything from me. My family has its secrets that they want to stay well and truly under lock and key. But if you want to talk, then…feel like you can. I can be your Alfred."

"You want to be my butler?" Devon chuckled.

"Dude, Alfred was like…special forces, former spy, 007 kind of dude. He was totally badass!" Mike replied. Devon just sighed.

"Well, I guess it would be nice to have someone I can talk to." Devon replied, taking a long slurp from a bottle. He gestured to a large crowd gathering in another part of the park. "What's happening over there?"

"Oh, it's just Winchester having another 'look how rich I am' unveiling." Mike informed him. "I swear, the only times that dude is in the city is when there's cameras involved."

"Don't you work for him?" Devon reminded him. Mike just laughed.

"Who the hell doesn't in this town?" Mike replied. "I know that you're a kept kid, but those of us that work in this city know that if you don't work for one of the Big Six Families, you just don't have a job."

"Dude, I get enough of that get a job bullshit from my dad, now you're going to start on it?" Devon asked him. That was when he noticed something. He could see Blaze hanging around near some bushes just at the edge of the ceremony. He didn't want to think why he was there, but whatever it was it likely wasn't good. "Mike, check that out."

"Some dude skulking around?" Mike asked him. "He's probably just trying to see what's going on…"

"Mike, you might want to start getting people out of here." Devon told him.

"Because of some creepy dude in leather?" Mike asked.

"That's one of our bad guys!" Devon told him. "Trust me, bad shit is about to go down! Start getting people out of here and I'll try and keep him occupied."

"Devon…"

"Just do it, Alfred!" Devon yelled as he ran towards Blaze. Mike just threw his hands up.

"HOW?" He yelled, before running to the crowd, trying to imagine how he was going to disperse a crowd by himself.

Blaze was skulking around in the bushes, trying to get a good view of the ceremony. His dad was indeed unveiling something in the park, something that no doubt was another demonstration of his family's generosity.

"And although I will be sad to see the woodlands go, rest assured we at Winchester International are doing all we can to make sure our city is still one of the greenest and most beautiful in the country…nay, the world!" His dad called out as he prepared for the unveiling. "With that said, it is my privilege, nay, my pleasure, to donate these three exquisite trees to the city in honour of the latest super heroes."

Blaze just chuckled as he heard this. This was typical of his dad. Throw the scraps from his table while he kept his steak dinner and hope no one noticed. He had no doubt in his mind his dad probably already had the contract to make the new freeway. He had kind of an uneasy agreement of sorts with the other five main families in Coral Harbour. Any new construction work, he was the one that put in the lowest offer and they backed off, while they had their own interests. It wasn't strictly speaking illegal, but since they now effectively owned most of the business in the city, there really wasn't any way to say outright that they were all intentionally manipulating the fact that they controlled most of the businesses to ensure they didn't compete and kept the profits rolling in.

Blaze didn't give a damn about the woodlands, but it amused him to think of the fact his dad was going to slash and burn hundreds of trees that had likely been growing for thousands of years and giving back three new trees and getting applauded for it.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and was spun around, finding Devon standing right behind him, morphed and ready for action.

"Third time's the charm asshole!" He roared as he punched him in the face. The crowd all spun around to see the commotion. Blaze mopped his lip and smiled at him.

"I'll give you that one for free." Blaze said as he pulled out his key, sticking it into his morpher. In a flourish of light and glitching, he morphed and pulled into a guard. "The rest, you have to pay for. Think you can afford it?"

Devon threw himself at Blaze, while the crowd started to panic and run.

In another part of the city, Zoey was checking on the laundry while Jax was at her side. He was helping her keep track of the output to make sure the place was running as efficiently as it could. It was surprising how much laundry a military base could go through, but between standard uniforms, training gear and the fact that everyone on base had an allowance for how many personal items they could get laundered at Grid Battleforce's expense, there were literal tons of clothing coming through every single week.

"Jax, this is incredible, your database makes this so easy." Zoey said as she looked to the tablet, which had been linked into Jax's head.

"My brain has way more processing power than that thing you call a computer." Jax said with absolutely no modesty at all. "Like I said, I'm not just here to help pilot the Zord. I'm here to make your day easier in any way I can."

"Thanks…on both counts." Zoey told him. "I promise I'll spend more time in the simulator so you don't have to do quite so much of the work in the Zord."

"OK, I've got a bundle here, but I've no idea where it's going." Someone said, putting it down in front of Zoey. She looked through it, inspecting it.

"This is Betty's…and Ben's the only one that wears this size on the base." Zoey replied. "Take it to their dorm."

"Will do ma'am." He replied. Zoey just sighed.

"Would people stop calling me that?" She asked.

"You know, strictly speaking you are a sergeant now." Jax reminded her. She just groaned.

"Yes, but it just…really takes some getting used to." She told him, before checking her watch. "Alright Jax, would you mind finishing here? I have something I want to check on in the lab."

"You got it Zoey!" He answered as Zoey ran out. "Alright, come on, let's get this moving, this laundry isn't going to do itself! Let's see some butts moving people!"

Back in the park, Devon and Blaze were fighting as Mike tried to convince people to leave. It was a little difficult, there were a lot of press there to cover the unveiling and being the hottest thing in the city, an appearance by a Ranger was definitely far more interesting than a rich guy planting some trees.

"Dude, seriously, two super-powered beings are going at it hammer and tongs and you're not running?" Mike asked one cameraman as he filmed the encounter.

"Are you serious? This could get me an award!" He said excitedly.

"Are those posthumous?" Mike asked him incredulously. He looked up in time to see Devon and Blaze locking in a test of strength, struggling for position.

"You're getting better." Blaze complimented him.

"You don't know the half of it." Devon replied as he shifted his weight, flipping Blaze over his shoulder, onto the ground. Blaze rolled clear as Devon leapt into the air and brought his knee down, right where his head had been, and kipped back to his feet. Blaze summoned a blaster, aiming for Devon, but he tumbled and flipped clear, keeping him out of the way of the blasts. He pulled into a guard a little way off.

"And I thought the yellow one was the Jackrabbit." He stated as he put the blaster away. "Another time, maybe we can have a real fight!"

With that, he teleported away.

"Damn it!" Devon yelled as he teleported his sword back to the base. He was about to leave, when he turned to see the trees. They were barely more than saplings, and had been planted by hand. With the exception of a few news vans and Winchester's limo, there were no vehicles anywhere in the area. The nearest Morph-X tower was several blocks away.

"There's no Morph-X here." He commented as he looked around. "What the hell was Blaze doing here?"

Back at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Nate was in his lab, working on his latest upgrade for the Rangers when Zoey came running into the lab. She saw him as he was just finishing up. He smiled, thinking that it was amazing timing that one of the Rangers had come in just in time to see his latest update to their arsenal.

"Hey, Nate!" She called out excitedly. Since they had finished on the motor while they were in quarantine, she was hoping that it wouldn't take him long to get a working bike up and running. She'd hoped to get to talk to Mayor Daniels before the freeway build started, but she'd heard in the news that they were breaking ground later that day, meaning if she was going to act to save the woods, she needed to move quickly.

"Check it out!" He replied as he picked up one of their sabres. She watched as he started to fold it up. "I have re-coded your Beast X Sabres and your Beast X Blasters so they can interface!"

He clipped the sabre onto the end of the blaster, creating a larger, heavier looking blaster.

"Behold, the Beast-X cannon!" He declared proudly.

"Cool, I can't wait to try it out!" She said as she tried to hurry the conversation along. She really did like the look of the new weapon, anything that would make their job as Rangers easier had to be a good thing, but she was sure he would brief her and the others later. "Is my X-bike ready?"

Nate just snapped his fingers and directed her to another part of the lab, where he wheeled out a bike from behind one of the benches. Zoey could hardly believe it. It was like everything she'd hoped for and more…and Nate had seemingly built it in his spare time! She often wondered if Nate ever stopped working. She looked over the bike, inspecting it in awe.

"Your phenomenal idea, one Morph-X powered bike, built to your specifications." He told her. "The engine interface was pretty basic; the link up didn't take that long."

"And this is the same motor we worked on the other night?" Zoey asked him.

"Essentially yes." He told her. "I may have gotten in some parts that made it a little more efficient but basically, this is exactly the motor we made out of leftover scraps. All it needs is a little Morph-X."

He handed her a tube, and indicated to a part of the motor.

"I'll let you do the honours." He continued. "It is your idea after all."

"I just…put it in?" She asked. He nodded in response.

"The city will have to replace the Morph-X every few years or so, but given the rate of use, the costs should be negligible compared to the cost of a new road." He assured her. Zoey slid the tube into place, feeling it seal in place.

"What just happened? Did I do it right?" She asked in a little bit of a panic.

"It's a security feature, we don't want people to go stealing Morph-X." He assured her. "Only the city will have access to the keys to change the tubes."

"And its ready for me to use, right now?" She asked him.

"Ready to go!" He said proudly as he handed it over to her.

"And you're sure you can make a lot of them fast?" She asked him.

"The prototype is always the longest to make." He responded. "Now we have a template, we can put this into mass production pretty quickly."

"Great, maybe I can still make it before they break ground!" She rushed out as she pushed the bike out of the lab, almost running into Ben and Betty. Betty looked to the bike as Zoey left. She remembered seeing Nate and Zoey working on the motor while they were in quarantine. That they were still working together on this project was her devious plan working in a way she hadn't hoped for.

"Hey, does that run on Morph-X?" She asked. "I want one!"

"I'm a little busy right now, but I have the parts for you to make one of your own if you don't want to wait on mass production starting."

"Make one of our own eh?" Betty asked, looking intrigued by the thought. "Come on Ben, we've got work to do."

"Don't we already have work to do?" Ben asked her.

"Yeah, but we're working in the garage today and Lieutenant Stone doesn't care if we're late." She reminded him. "Come to think of it, last time we worked in the garage, he made that joke about how he wouldn't mind if we didn't come in at all remember?"

"I guess we could use some tools down there to build it." Ben said with a shrug. "I'm sure he'll let us know if he needs us."

Nate just handed them a box of parts.

"There, you should have everything you need in there, anything else, I'm sure Lieutenant Stone will provide."

As they left, Nate just shook his head with a little laugh and got back to work.

Elsewhere on the base, Devon was eating in the mess hall when Ravi came over, sitting down with him.

"How's the new job treating you?" Devon asked him. Since the Ranger Programme was secret, those involved had other jobs on the base and were simply seconded to it when needed so that they didn't have to list anyone as being employed as Rangers. In Ravi's case, being one of the consistently best scorers in his tests and being obsessed with working out anyway, he was assigned as a physical training officer.

"I get to work out as much as I like." Ravi said with a shrug. "I only have a few classes a day, then other than that I'm just hitting the gym."

"I'm sure you just love that." Devon chuckled.

"Devon, I signed up to serve, not work out all day and get paid for it." Ravi told him. "I mean, I like having more time, but seriously at times I wish I could go back to being security or something."

"I spent the morning in the park sparring with my friend Mike." Devon told him.

"OK, that sounds good." Ravi replied. "At least you're not wasting every day."

"Seriously, what is with everyone?" Devon asked. "Who made this rule saying everyone has to be in a job they hate from the day they turn 18?"

"Not everyone has a choice Devon." Ravi replied, putting a forkful of food into his mouth. "Not everyone is part of the silver spoon brigade."

"Talking about that…I ran into our buddy Blaze." Devon told him. Ravi just threw his hands out as he heard this.

"Dude, what the Hell?" He asked. "Why didn't you call us?"

"I thought I could handle it." Devon responded.

"That's not the point! We're meant to call in when we see one of the bad guys. You know what my mom would say?" Ravi asked him. Devon just shrugged.

"I don't need to. I can just listen to you lecture me instead." He answered with a grin. Ravi just rolled his eyes.

"So, what was he up to? I can't imagine there are too many big Morph-X supplies out there." Ravi quizzed him.

"I thought that too. There was barely any Morph-X out there and he didn't seem to go for any of it." Devon informed him. "But his dad was out there."

"Mr Winchester?" Ravi asked. Devon just nodded.

"He was kind of skulking around watching him." Devon informed him. "It seemed pretty weird."

"Have you reported this yet?" Ravi asked him. Devon just shrugged.

"I will once I finish this." He assured him. Ravi knew better than to remind him he should have reported it immediately. After lunch was probably about the best he was going to get. However, he was curious, if Blaze wasn't after Morph-X, what would he want in the park?

Zoey whizzed her way through the city out towards the woods on her new Morph-X bike. It handled exactly as she had hoped it would! Motorized bikes weren't exactly a new concept, they'd been in production for a long time, allowing the rider to augment their pedalling with a little boost from the motor, or even to just let it take over for some distances to make things easier for the rider, but it still had the same issues as any other motor, namely how it was powered. With Morph-X, that wasn't going to be a problem.

She saw a construction crew and some news crews and knew that she was cutting it fine. If they'd broken ground already, the odds where they would have moved on already. She didn't have long though, she looked around, hoping to find Mayor Daniels before he could do his announcement. Unfortunately, she could see her mom starting to pack up and Mayor Daniels directing a bulldozer.

"I'm too late!" She groaned, before she noticed something on the ground. A lizard had run into the path of the bulldozer. Without thinking, she threw down the Morph-X bike and ran, screaming for them to stop, waving her arms frantically, before stooping down and scooping up the lizard, barely having time to leap clear herself before the bulldozer saw her and hit the brakes.

"Zoey, what are you doing?" Muriel asked, looking incredibly worried. Given the fact her daughter had been within inches of ending up under the wheels of several tons of construction equipment, it wasn't really a surprise that she was worried. It was the first time her mom had seen her since she had joined Grid Battleforce, and instead of a nice lunch or maybe a movie, she was watching her daughter throwing herself under a bulldozer. "You could have been killed!"

"That was far too close! I am so sorry miss…!" Mayor Daniels started to say, before he saw Zoey getting up, covered in crass and muck. It was…not exactly how she wanted to present herself to tell him her idea to save the woods he was about to bulldoze. "You, I remember you from Grid Battleforce…your Zoey, right?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right." She said a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry for the fuss, but that bulldozer was about to squish this poor little lizard."

She could see the way everyone was looking at her. Great, now instead of presenting a serious idea, she was the girl that almost got herself crushed by a bulldozer to save a tiny reptile.

"Well, I'm just glad you're alright." Mayor Daniels said to her. "Now, I have to get on with…"

"Mr Mayor, what if you didn't need to build this road?" Zoey rushed out as he was walking away. He stopped in his tracks and turned back towards her. "Mr Mayor, this wood is an important eco system, home to hundreds of animals. Getting rid of it means they'll lose their homes."

"Zoey, I've written many green-belt initiatives in my time. It's one of the reasons I've been in the job so long, people like the fact I've kept so much of the green spaces in this city." He reminded her. "I didn't like proposing this road either, but traffic in the city is a nightmare. I just can't see any other way around it."

"Then let me show you!" She said, handing the lizard to her mom, before running to the bike, picking it up and bringing it over to him. "Let me introduce you to the Morph-X bike. It runs on clean, renewable Morph-X. You can pedal it for exercise or let the motor do most of the work. And, if I say so myself, it's a lot of fun to ride too. You put these around the city for people to borrow, pretty soon more people will leave their cars at home."

Mayor Daniels started to inspect the bike with interest. Seeing this, Muriel gestured to her cameraman to start rolling. Mayor Daniels considered the bike. Zoey could see him thinking as he looked over the bike.

"Just imagine how much money the city would save if they funded my bikes instead of building new roads." She suggested. She was buoyed when she saw the bright smile on his face.

"You have a good head for business Zoey." He told her. "I had considered a bike-sharing scheme, but the city is a big place to pedal everywhere. Maybe with these, people will consider leaving the car in the driveway if they're just going to work."

After mulling it over for a moment, he looked to her.

"I'll make you a deal. And since I'm sure Ms Reeves here is already rolling, I'm choosing to be very clear and choosing my words carefully. I'll fully fund your bikes on a trial basis…for one week."

This sounded a lot more daunting than Zoey first thought. One week wasn't exactly a lot of time to get the word out and sell people on the advantages of cycling instead of driving. Even in the age of instant information from the internet, things took time. One week was a hell of a short time frame to ask people to change the habit of a lifetime.

"If you can get these bikes set up and get people to start riding them, then you have my word we'll talk about a larger scale roll out." He told her, offering his hand. "If the numbers add up, I'll cancel this road."

Zoey knew that it was a big mountain to climb, but she also knew that it wasn't like she was in the position to negotiate much of a better deal. She took his hand, shaking it.

"Deal." She told him. As Mayor Daniels walked away, Zoey was wracking her brain for where to even begin. Nate told her they could mass produce quickly, but in a week? They'd need a lot of bikes so that people interested could start riding them straight away, and more so that people who took a bit longer could get hold of them if they wanted to give it a shot and see how it was. Not to mention advertising and publicity and…

"CUT!" Muriel called out, causing Zoey to jump. She had forgotten her mom was even there. Zoey saw the cameraman putting the camera down. "Now that is a news story!"

Well…that was a start at least. Her mom came over and swallowed her in a huge hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" She rushed out. "I know…I know you were disappointed to not get the job you wanted at Grid Battleforce, but this shows you're still working hard."

"Yeah, I'm doing that alright." Zoey answered.

"I'd love to catch up if you have…"

"I'm afraid I don't have much time right now. I really need to get back to the base." Zoey told her. "My mouth has written a pretty big ass check and if my friends and I are going to cash it…"

"I understand completely." Muriel assured her. "Maybe a celebration lunch when you get that contract?"

"Sure, that sounds like it'll be great!" Zoey answered. "Um…I really need to be going. I'll see you later!"

As Zoey got back on her bike and rode off, heading back to the base, Mayor Daniels was breaking the news to the road crew that they were being put on hiatus until further notice. Muriel just smiled as she saw them starting to secure their equipment.

"That's my girl." She said proudly.


	33. Promotional Drive

Roxy was in the Cyber Dimension, watching some monitors when Blaze arrived back. She didn't even turn to look at him as he entered.

"Productive day?" She asked him. Blaze just leaned against a wall.

"I kept myself busy." He told her. "Busier than you by the looks of things. I can't believe you manage to get daytime television in another dimension."

"With Scrozzle's tech, it's not too hard to get just about any network." She told him, flicking her hair as she turned to him. "Also, for your information, never was that into daytime shows. I always found the news to be far more informative."

She showed him a screen, which caused him to groan out loud.

"Aw, did little Blazey feel a little homesick and want to see his daddy?" She asked with a little pout. Blaze just sneered in response.

"Hardly." He said with disgust. "Besides, any time I get a chance to kick the rookie's tail is a fun day."

"Oh yes, I saw that alright." She said as she brought up the footage. "I especially liked the part where you ran out."

"I could have finished him if I'd wanted!" Blaze snapped.

"Sure, you could. And I'm sure you'd just love me to tell Evox how you had the Red Ranger right where you wanted him and then ran out." She teased him. Blaze snapped off the wall and tensed up, but she just laughed. "Don't worry, I really don't care. I just liked a little light entertainment while I was looking for something useful, and now I think I've found something."

She pulled up a recording from earlier. It showed Mayor Daniels talking to Zoey.

"What's the mayor doing talking to the laundry girl?" Blaze asked.

"_If you can get these bikes set up and get people to start riding them, then you have my word we'll talk about a larger scale roll out. If the numbers add up, I'll cancel this road_."

"Bikes?" Blaze asked. "They're talking about bikes?"

"Specifically, Morph-X fuelled bikes for a bike sharing scheme in the city." She informed him. "Just think, all those bikes just sitting out in the open for people to take 24 hours a day."

"How much Morph-X is going to be in one of those things?" Blaze asked.

"Does it matter?" She asked him in response. "It's not like there's going to be fences or alarms or armed guards around a bunch of shared bikes are there?"

"Interesting." Blaze said with a little smirk. "Think they'll be up and running soon?"

"Oh, my old roomie was such a go-getter I wouldn't be surprised if they're already in production." Roxy said as she started working on the computer.

"Well, in that case all we need is a Robotron that can get the Morph-X out of those bikes." Blaze said as Roxy produced a key.

"Way ahead of you." She answered, powering up the key. "But that's only part one of the plan."

"Part one?" He asked, seeing the devious look on her face. "What do you have in mind?"

"Let's just say I want to test out a theory." She said, taking the key. "Now, how about we look around this old junk, see what gives me inspiration?"

"It's your rodeo." Blaze said with a shrug. "As long as you carry the can, I'm happy to ride along."

The following day, Zoey had 'convinced' her friends to get on board with her scheme to bring Morph-X bikes to the people! That is to say, she begged, pleaded, threatened and bribed them with every promise they could think of before they finally relented and went along with it. Grid Battleforce, for their part, were on board with the idea, and were already in talks with manufacturers to take on the contract for the bikes, while Nate had as many as he could possibly have made on-site by virtually anyone that didn't have anything more important to do at the time.

The timetable was ambitious to say the least. From an advertising standpoint if nothing else, it was a huge task! No matter what product or service was being advertised, most companies had the benefit of weeks, sometimes months before the release date to make everyone aware of their new, exciting thing that people just needed to have in their lives. The fact that Zoey had to start advertising on the same day as the bikes were being installed in half a dozen places around the city meant that it was possible by the end of the week a substantial number of people might not even be aware of the new scheme, never mind have given up their morning commute for a ride to work. Getting the word out was vital, and so they were having to mobilise on the street as aggressively as they could.

Unfortunately, aggressive also meant that some people really were not receptive.

"Would you like to try one of our new Morph-X bikes?" Zoey asked, running up to a complete stranger with flyers in her hand, showing it to him. "It's a great way to get around town and a great alternative to…"

The guy just dumped the flyer straight in a trash can. Zoey just gasped.

"You could have just said no rather than wasting a flyer!" She yelled after him. "And there's a recycling bin just over there!"

"Zoey, Zoey…" Devon said as he guided her away, sitting her down. He could see that the frustration was starting to build in her from her rather limited time frame and drive to see her idea succeed. "Yelling at people isn't going to turn them into customers!"

"That guy was just so…UGH!"

"Yes, he wasn't the nicest, but we're trying to convince people, not drive them off." Devon reminded her. "Show them what they're missing by not being part of this rather than trying to ram it in their faces. I mean…look at Ravi!"

Ravi was riding around in circuits nearby, showing off the bikes for people so they could see them working. He stopped by a lady who was walking past.

"Trying to get to work? How about trying an X-bike?" He asked her. "No more traffic!"

"And nowhere for me to put my drink." She said, holding up a coffee cup. "Look, I appreciate the environmental thing, that's why I use my own re-usable cup, but if I don't get my caffeine in the morning, I am just no good to anyone, and I can't really put it anywhere on that thing."

"You know, she does kind of have a point." Devon agreed with a shrug. "Maybe you could write some of these suggestions down. Anything that can improve the bikes might improve the chances of people using them."

He hopped on one of the bikes himself and took it over to another guy who was just walking past.

"You want to try an X-bike?" He asked. "They're great for cruising around on, and they're super cool!"

"I know cool, and its not that." The guy said dismissively, before looking up. "But that…that is!"

They all looked up in time to see Ben and Betty riding into the area. Just as Nate had suggested, they had made their own bike rather than wait until the first ones rolled off the assembly line, but it looked like they'd spent that extra time adding a few unique twists to the design. The first and most noticeable of which was that it was a tandem bike meaning they were both riding the same bike.

They had already pre-empted the lack of a cup holder, having cup holders welded to their respective handlebars, and they'd heavily customised it with their own unique style and flair. The three Rangers along with everyone nearby just stopped to watch them riding around. Devon and Ravi pointed out to Zoey that some of them were even shooting video of the bike on their phones.

"You wanted to get the word out." Devon said as he nudged her.

"And it there's one thing Ben and Betty do well it's attract attention." Ravi laughed. Zoey was overjoyed to see the interest.

"Wow, that thing's amazing!" She said, pulling out her notebook and starting to write down ideas. All she could do was think about all the buzz Ben and Betty were creating with their antics. Her mom's broadcast had created some awareness, but with people putting this on the internet, maybe this was what she finally needed to get people to start taking the bikes seriously.

The air was split by a shriek, and the Rangers all turned to see what had caused the commotion. People started running as they saw Blaze standing next to the bike stands with a new Robotron, which was doing something to the bikes. Ben and Betty had been distracting everyone so much that they had managed to get to the bikes without anyone noticing. The Rangers all stepped up towards him as everyone else fled.

"HEY!" Zoey yelled at them. "Unless you want to ride one, you better step away from the bikes!"

"Oh, really?" Blaze asked as he stepped up towards them. "And what'll you do if we don't?"

Devon opened his mouth to speak, but Blaze just held up a hand.

"On second thought, I really don't care." He replied, producing a blaster, which he fired. It seemed to miss them, but it did hit Ben and Betty's bike. The two saw the Morph-X motor had been hit and ditched the bike, starting to run. There was an explosion before they could get far enough away from the bike, which threw them both out into the river.

"BEN!" Ravi called out. "BETTY!"

"Ravi, go help them!" Devon instructed the Blue Ranger. Ravi immediately broke into a run, ditching his jacket and his trainers before diving in after them. If they were even still alive, which they all prayed they were, then it was likely they would be in no condition to swim to shore themselves. Devon and Zoey faced off against Blaze and the Robotron. "You really shouldn't have messed with our friends!"

"But it's just so much fun!" Blaze said with a little smirk on his face, morphing and preparing for battle. Devon and Zoey both morphed, rushing towards them.

In another part of the city, Mayor Daniels was in his office, fielding a call from a reporter. He had gotten more than a few since Muriel's broadcast had gone out. He had enjoyed a couple of terms largely as a result of his ability to balance the needs of business and the needs of those that didn't want to live entirely surrounded by concrete, steel and glass. He was impressed by Zoey's idea, and he was curious to see if it would work.

As much as he was a city guy, born and raised, he hadn't always lived in the nicest of neighbourhoods. He'd lived in slums where people could look out of their window and see only brick walls. He'd lived in places where he could look up and hardly see the sky for smog at certain times of the day. He had always been happiest when he took his son to the park as a kid, or gone to the mountains with his wife before he was born. He didn't want to see a world where people might grow up never seeing such things as trees or bushes or even grass.

"Yes, yes I am fully committed to my promise." Mayor Daniels said to the reporter on the other end. "Mayor Daniels has always been a friend of the environment. If we get back the figures at the end of the week and things look good, I fully intend to go into wide-scale production."

The door of his office opened and Mr Winchester walked in. Mayor Daniels sighed.

"Yes, it was nice speaking to you too." He said, before hanging up the phone and getting up. "Mr Winchester, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" He demanded. "I saw you on the news promising to axe my new freeway?"

"If you're unsure of what I mean, I'm sure you could get a hold of my press briefing…"

"You know what I mean Daniels!" He yelled in response.

"That is MAYOR Daniels!" He responded emphatically. "Now, I understand you do a lot for this city which is why I give you a lot of leeway with your little unannounced visits and aggressive phone calls and all-caps e-mails but I do not appreciate being yelled at in my own office!"

"How long do you think you'll have that office if I stop contributing to your campaign?" Mr Winchester put down flatly. "I have a lot of money riding on this freeway…"

"And since Grid Battleforce owns the patents on the Morph-X bikes, if this scheme takes off, I'm more than certain you'll make plenty." Mayor Daniels interrupted him. "Now, if you're quite done trying to threaten my career…"

"I am nowhere near done threatening you…"

"Then do feel free to withdraw your funding if you wish, I can't stop you!" Mayor Daniels told him. "But I serve more than just you in this city, and given the phone calls and e-mails I've got coming in a lot of people seem very happy about the prospect of keeping those woods just as they are, and when all is said and done, people make votes not dollars."

Mr Winchester just glared at him, but Mayor Daniels just folded his arms defiantly.

"Do you know the way out or should I ask security to remind you how you got in?" He asked. Mr Winchester just turned and started to leave.

"You haven't heard the last of this!" He snapped.

"I don't doubt that for a second!" Mayor Daniels said sarcastically, before slamming the door behind him. He went to his desk, kicking it. He really hadn't wanted to find himself taking such a huge gamble, but he was always sure it was going to ruffle feathers. However, he was always determined to ensure that he was beyond reproach. One thing he was not going to be accused of being bought.

Back at the site of the battle, Zoey hit the ground and slapped the concrete in frustration. She looked over to where the bikes had been, seeing they had all been damaged. She got to her feet, staring straight at the Needletron.

"Time to see if Nate's Beast X Cannon works." She said to herself, summoning her blaster. She tried to remember how Nate folded up the sabre, finally managing it, before locking the two together. She levelled the weapon at Needletron.

"Beast X Cannon FIRE!" She called out, pulling the trigger. The blaster roared into life, causing her to stumble as it unleased a powerful blast, which tore through the Robotron, reducing it to scrap metal. Its arm rolled along the ground, stopping by Blaze, who just flicked it up into his hands.

"Hmph, so much for that little project." He complained. "I'm out of here!"

With that, he teleported away. Devon and Zoey both de-morphed and ran for the edge of the river, where Ravi, Ben and Betty were waiting. Ravi had managed to get them out of the water, and by the looks of things they were both still alive.

"Are you two alright?" Devon asked them.

"We'll be fine." Betty said, shivering a little. Ben gave them a thumbs up, while shaking uncontrollably.

"I've called a transport." He informed them. "We should get them back to the base to get checked out properly."

"But the bikes…"

"Never mind about the bikes." Zoey assured her as the transports arrived. "It's more important you're alright. That blast looked pretty bad."

"It's not like it's the first time we've been blown up." Betty said, waving it up.

"Or burned." Ben added. "Or electrocuted, knocked over, squashed…"

"OK, just you go with the medical team and be safe guys." Devon told them as they were taken away, leaving Devon, Ravi and Zoey alone. They went back towards the bikes, inspecting the damage.

"Look at this." Zoey moaned as she looked at the damage.

"All the Morph-X tanks have been punctured." Devon said, looking at them. "No prizes for guessing what they were after."

"Blaze got away with that needle, which means he's got all the Morph-X that was in it." Ravi pointed out.

"At least that robot isn't going to be causing any more damage." Devon shrugged, trying to find things to be positive about. "Not to mention we now know Nate's new Beast X Cannon works."

"Yeah, but after this attack, is anyone going to want to go near the bikes again?" Zoey asked them. "Come on, let's call someone to come get these bikes back to headquarters. Maybe they can be repaired or recycled or something."

Meanwhile, back in the Cyber Dimension, Blaze was emptying out the needle while Roxy watched on.

"Well, that was totally worth it." He said sarcastically.

"It will be, once we've hit those other bike stands." Roxy replied as she saw him finish emptying it out. "After all, little and often is the way to go."

"You're not the one that was out there fighting." Blaze snapped at her.

"Oh, I'll be fighting alright." She responded. "I've got everything set up just the way I want."

"What are you planning?" Blaze asked with a little smirk. Roxy just smiled in response.

The following day, Devon and Mike were in the park, sparring once more. Devon was glad to know the guys and he was always happy that they were there for him, but a part of him was also happy that he had someone outside of the team that he could talk to.

"So, Blaze got you again?" Mike asked him.

"Really? That's your only take away from that story I told you?" Devon asked him. Mike threw him a bottle of water.

"I only participated in one tournament against him and I had his number." Mike said with a shrug. "Just sayin'."

"Had his number?" Devon laughed. "Remind me, didn't he win that fight?"

"Hey, it was a split decision, I'm counting it!" Mike protested, citing his moment in the spotlight. "Split decision my ass, if that middle judge hadn't been a fan of his? I'd have had that trophy!"

He saw the look on Devon's face as he stared into the distance, sipping some water.

"Come on, dude, it's not like you've never had your butt kicked before." Mike tried to reassure him. "It happens to all of us."

"It's not that." Devon told him. "I just can't shake this weird feeling about Blaze."

"It's called being pissed." Mike replied. "You should have heard what I had to say when that decision came in. Kind of language that would have made my grandfather blush and he served in forward infantry!"

"No, it's not that its just, at the park it was like he didn't have any reason to be there. There was hardly any Morph-X, what was the point?" Devon asked him. "And then when he attacked my friends and I, when he blasted Ben and Betty? It just kind of felt like the Blaze that just liked pushing people around for the hell of it."

"Blaze was a dick, but I don't remember him trying to murder anyone." Mike responded. Devon's communicator bleeped. He gestured to Mike to keep quiet and answered it.

"You've got Devon." He answered.

"Devon, I just tried to get an extension on the deadline from Mayor Daniels." Zoey told him. "He wouldn't budge."

"That sounds like dad alright." Devon stated. "Once he's made up his mind on something, good luck trying to get him to shift."

"I got that impression too." Zoey sighed. "I'm heading to the woods with the others, we're going to try and move as many of the animals as we can. Can you join us?"

"Uh…" He looked to Mike, who just shrugged. "I kind of had something on…"

"Please!" Zoey begged him. "I'll owe you one!"

"One?" He laughed. "You already owe me for that leaflet thing."

"Then I'll owe you more!" Zoey groaned. "I'll pay you back, just, please come and help us?"

"Fine!" He groaned. "I'll be there in a few."

As he cut the link, he whistled, at which Cruise started up and moved over to him. Mike just marvelled at the bike.

"Dude, is that…a Ranger thing?" He asked.

"Just one of the perks." Devon told him, putting on his helmet and mounting Cruise, before roaring away. Mike just watched him go.

"Damn." He muttered. "What does a guy have to do to become a Ranger? That bike was sick!"


	34. A Wild Ride

Futile, pointless, stupid…these were just some of the words that could be used to describe the efforts to evacuate all the animals from the woods. There were literally thousands of animals of all kinds, spanning dozens, possibly hundreds of species. The prospect of collecting, temporarily storing and re-homing all of them was simply an impossibility, even if Zoey managed to convince Commander Shaw to lend every vehicle, resource, every inch of storage space and every one of Grid Battleforce's employees to the task.

Ben and Betty would want to help, but after the explosion they were still in the infirmary, which left just Nate, the Beast Bots, and the Rangers to the task. Commander Shaw gave them some storage space and allowed them to sign out two transports, but that was still only enough to scratch the surface. The focus, therefore, was on trying to get a couple of as many species as possible to preserve at least the diversity of the woods for once they were released following the building of the road. The rest, sadly, would have to fend for themselves. Some would hopefully move on the correct way, but it was inevitable many would be lost.

Devon was scooping up a millipede, putting it into a carrying container to keep it safe.

"You're a creepy little dude, but I'm going to save you anyway." Devon commented as he sealed the container. He looked around to where Nate was cataloguing all the species they found as they had them gathered up for transport to the temporary storage facility they were being given until after the road was completed. The Beast Bots were helping round animals up while the Rangers were mostly taking the animals and putting them into containers for the trip. Devon stopped by Ravi, who was putting a container with a hedgehog into the back of one of the trucks.

"Zoey's really into all this stuff, huh?" Devon asked him. He hadn't really known Ravi or Zoey terribly long. He'd seen Ravi at the gym when Blaze attacked him, and Zoey he more or less met when the two of them blundered straight into the middle of their first Ranger battle. Ravi just shrugged.

"She seems to be." He answered. Devon just looked at him a little surprised. "What? You don't think I knew everyone on the base right? I barely knew her until all this started."

"I don't know, I guess this is all pretty cool." Devon responded as he was looking around. "I just can't believe I've lived in this city my whole life and I've never been out here."

"Never?" Ravi asked him. Devon just shrugged.

"Well, maybe I've passed by it a few times, gone through it on my way somewhere else, but I guess I was always more of an indoors kind of guy."

Zoey came wandering past with a carrying cage, making soothing sounds to the creature inside. She put it in the back of the truck. She looked pretty exhausted. None of them had been working harder than her. If it wasn't for the fact, she had already assured them she knew they couldn't save all of the animals, it would look like she was definitely giving it a damn good try.

"Zoey, are you OK?" Jax asked her.

"I'm…I'm fine." She told him, wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"You look like you could use a rest." Jax told her.

"Guys, seriously I'm…"

"NATE!" Jax yelled in a deceptively loud voice for the size of his body. The Rangers all recoiled.

"Jeez, little warning next time?" Devon asked as he started clearing out his ears.

"What is it?" Nate asked.

"Zoey looks pretty exhausted." Jax told him.

"I told you guys, I'm fine." She groaned. "We need to get on with this and…"

"Don't worry, we'll make sure these little critters are safe until their homes are too." Jax assured her. Devon put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn and look at him.

"Don't worry Zoey." He assured her. "We'll stay out here all night if we have to."

As they headed away to get somewhere for Zoey to rest and eat, Devon took the opportunity for a break as well, getting a bottle of water and taking a drink. He looked to Ravi.

"So, I was just thinking about Blaze…"

"Man, not this again." Ravi groaned. "Dude, finding him at a rally once doesn't mean he's still the Blaze we all used to know and loathe."

"No, I'm not saying he's exactly the same, but…if he's even similar, maybe that's something we can use." Devon replied. "See, when I'm playing a video game…"

"Dude, we're NOT playing a video game!" Ravi snapped.

"Ravi, calm down." Devon said, backing up a little. "I was just thinking…maybe learning a little more about them from before they were avatars wouldn't be a bad thing."

"We don't need to go prying into their personal lives." Ravi stated.

"Look, Blaze was a dick, that much is clear, but…what about Roxy?" Devon asked him. "What do you remember about Roxy from before all of this?"

"We need to get back to work." Ravi told him, putting his drink away.

"Dude, all I'm asking is…"

"I said I'm working!" Ravi yelled in response. Devon just blinked as he saw the savageness of Ravi's response. He got the impression Ravi wasn't the kind of person who made many personal connections. He seemed to mostly treat most of the people on the base as work colleagues, and had only moments earlier admitted that he didn't really know Zoey until they became Rangers despite them both being on the Ranger programme together. So why did he react like that when he was asking about Roxy? Was it possible…?

"That's IT!" Zoey called out, causing them to look around as she got up, pulling out her notebook and looking up the ideas she'd scribbled down. "People were into Ben and Betty's bike because it was cooler! We just need to make the X-bikes cooler! We could build some of those tandems for couples!"

"Or…how about make them glow in the dark?" Ravi suggested, causing them to look around. He just shrugged. "What? You only want people to ride them during the day? What could be better than a ride around the park at night?"

"We could have a contest, like a race or to see who could jump the highest or pull the coolest trick!" Devon suggested. "There's nothing people love better than a good competition, right?"

"We could upgrade them with speakers to play music!" Nate suggested. Zoey started frantically scribbling all of these ideas down. It would be a lot to organise in only a couple of days, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. It was better than sitting feeling sorry for herself. Just then, their communicators bleeped. Devon was the first to answer.

"Go ahead." Devon answered.

"Blaze was spotted near City Hall." Commander Shaw told them.

"We'll check it out." Devon answered.

"There's a bunch of my X-bikes there." Zoey informed them. She'd put a stand there specifically to make them visible to the people working at city hall to keep them fresh in their minds, and also, hopefully, to encourage some of them to start using them. If the city's movers and shakers were seen using the bikes, surely it would encourage others to do so. "He must be back for the Morph-X."

"It's alright, the Beast Bots and I will take care of the animals." He assured them, cradling a rather large looking beetle.

"Thanks Nate." Zoey said, putting a hand on his shoulder, before they all ran for one of the trucks and sped away. Nate looked to the creature in his hands and smiled.

"Scarabaeus Sacer…wow, I had no idea these were even native to this climate, never mind within the city limits!" He said excitedly as he put it in a container.

In another part of the city, right near City Hall, Blaze was by another X-Bike stand, using the Needletron's weapon to gather more Morph-X.

"Who needs a robot when you can just do the job yourself?" He asked. Just then, the needle was ripped from his hands as it was hit by a blast. He saw it sparking, before it exploded. He let out a scream of frustration as he turned to see the Rangers arriving.

"Nice shot Ravi." Devon complimented him. "Talk about a shot in the arm."

"You!" Blaze sneered as he turned to face them. "Who knows? Maybe with the three of you here it might just be a challenge."

He pulled out his key, placing it into his morpher, but instead of the usual pyrotechnics, nothing happened. He pressed it against the morpher a couple more times, before starting to whack it with the key. The Rangers stood dumbfounded as he started to rant and rave.

"My morpher isn't working!" He growled in a tone reminiscent of a child's tantrum. "Why isn't my morpher working?"

"Performance anxiety?" Zoey suggested with a shrug. Devon completely lost it and doubled over laughing. Even Ravi's chest was showing some pretty telling movement despite his struggle not to laugh. Blaze let out a yell and grabbed one of the X-Bikes and turned it on, before starting to peddle furiously.

"Uh…that just happened right?" Devon asked. "His escape plan is to use a bike?"

"Come on!" Zoey yelled as she snatched up one of the bikes. "He's not the only one that knows how to ride!"

Devon and Ravi both looked to each other and shrugged, before grabbing the bikes and joining her.

Muriel was sitting in the news helicopter hovering over the city. She had her eyes closed as she did some of her vocal exercises for the broadcast.

"You know, you need to open your eyes to do the traffic report." The pilot chuckled.

"I'm concentrating." She responded as she continued with her exercises. "Just because this assignment blows doesn't mean to say I need to do it badly."

While no one strictly speaking said this was a punishment, it sure as hell felt that way. Muriel often got the soft news and the fluff pieces. Partly because many of the others on the crew didn't take her seriously and partly because when she did launch any investigations, she had a habit of ruffling feathers and rubbing people, powerful and influential people the wrong way, that she would often be kept away and put where she was likely to cause the least damage. The fact she had been reporting on the ground breaking of a new road and had ended up with a story about a potential initiative that would make that road unnecessary had caused a little bit of a stir.

There were a lot of people making positive comments, saying how wonderful it was that the news was finally showing an alternative to turning every piece of land into a building project, others weren't quite so happy. Namely those working on the road crew and others that saw the road as a solution to the traffic congestion. The only call that her editor cared about was from Mr Winchester, who while not actually owning the station, certainly paid for a lot of advertising during the broadcasts and was far from happy the station was hamstringing his pet project. By the time morning briefing came around, Muriel found out she was in the traffic copter.

"What do you have against traffic?" The cameraman asked her. Muriel just sighed.

"Let's just say I can't remember the last time anyone won a Peabody for reporting on the morning tailback." She sighed as she straightened out her hair. "Alright, let's do this. Three, two…This is Muriel Reeves with your traffic report. Traffic on 14th Street is looking heavy now, you may want to…"

She suddenly paused and looked away from the traffic. The cameraman snapped his fingers.

"Dead air, dead air." He whispered. "Muriel…"

She just grabbed the camera and swung it around to show another direction. There, unmistakably in bright colours, the Rangers could be seen, and it looked like they were chasing someone through the city. Muriel was still sceptical of the anonymity of the Rangers, but she could not doubt their popularity. They were news, BIG news! The fact they also seemed to be riding Morph-X bikes could only help her daughter's campaign. The fact it would piss off Winchester would likely land her in hot water…but that was just a bonus!

"Hold on, it appears the Power Rangers are chasing someone on those new X-Bikes!" She rushed out. "Down there, take the chopper lower!"

"I'm getting a better angle." The cameraman said, beginning to pull on a harness. He clipped straps onto it and unclipped his seatbelt, before leaning right out of the helicopter, standing on the skid and leaning out, the straps being the only thing between him and a very messy end. Sometimes in the media, people were willing to quite literally risk it all for a good shot.

"Take the chopper lower!" She yelled at the pilot.

"Anything you say!" He replied as he dipped the controls. Muriel could only smile, thinking about her earlier assertion. Sure, no one doing a traffic report had won a Peabody as far as she knew…but that didn't mean to say there might not be a first time!

Down on the ground, the Rangers pursued Blaze, keeping close to him as they weaved through the city, dodging traffic and pedestrians. He finally rode into the front of a warehouse, disappearing inside.

"We've got him cornered." Devon called out. Unfortunately, as they came in, they were quickly under attack. Blasts flew their way, forcing them to abandon the bikes and head for cover. As they finally got the time and space to see what was happening, they all saw Roxy standing with a blaster in each hand and a wicked smile on her face. There were some Tronics all around her, working on gathering some barrels behind her.

"Well, well, it seems we have visitors." She commented. "How unexpected."

"Sorry…couldn't shake them." Blaze replied in an insincere tone. Devon started to put the pieces together as he heard this.

"There's only one way in…guys, he led us here!" Devon rushed out. "It was a trap!"

"Wow, you're only about a dozen steps behind." Roxy taunted him, beginning to pace around. "You must be the brains of the outfit…you really are in trouble then."

Blaze pulled out the key to his morpher and pressed a button.

"OOPS." He remarked sarcastically. "It works better when you turn it on."

"Roxy?" Ravi asked, seeing the woman he loved standing before him. His brain knew that she wasn't really here, he'd spent hours sitting next to her pod in the medical bay, but here she was, standing right in front of him, speaking to him. She just laughed a little.

"Nice to see you too Ravi." She commented. "Miss me?"

"Look!" Zoey called out, pointing behind them. There were a whole pile of Morph-X drums and canisters sitting behind them.

"We've been stealing Morph-X right under your noses." Roxy replied as she tossed her hair, looking straight to them. "And after we've taken this little lot, we'll have plenty to spare for quite some time."

Ravi started to make his way forward. If he could get to her, if he could talk to her away from Blaze and the Tronics, maybe he could talk her out of giving it away to Evox.

"Ah, ah, ah!" She warned him, pointing a blaster at the drums. "Just one little blast and this whole building goes boom!"

Ravi could only stand, uncertain what to do. Inside he was being torn apart. The amount of Morph-X she was aiming at was enough to take out a city block! There was no way he could get to her before she pulled the trigger. He was more than willing to sacrifice his own life, but to risk the lives of the others and everyone living within a city block of the warehouse? That was far too much to risk for any one person, even if it was the woman, he'd gladly give everything for.

Devon took the decision out of his hands. Activating his Cheetah Speed, he rushed across the room, body-checking Roxy several feet. Now that the Morph-X barrels were not in danger, the others could make their move too. Zoey leapt across the room, kicking Blaze back towards Ravi, who hit him with a clothesline that would have almost decapitated any human, but just sent the avatar spinning into the concrete. As Blaze and Roxy got to their feet, Roxy activated her cable bind attack, holding the Rangers in place.

"Take as much Morph-X as you can and take it to Scrozzle." She told him. "I'll take care of the Rangers and bring the rest myself."

As Blaze and the Tronics teleported out, taking all but one of the barrels with them, Roxy threw the Rangers into the wall. She recalled her cables as she stood, watching them get to their feet.

"I don't know why you're doing this." Devon stated. "But you're going to regret it! There's three of us and one of you!"

"Oh, dear…I didn't think of that! Oh no, what ever will poor, helpless little me do?" She asked, feigning worry. Just then, they heard some crashing from outside. Their communicators bleeped. Commander Shaw's voice broke through.

"Rangers, there's a giant robot heading for Morph-X Tower Tango 6." She told them. "Sensors show it's more powerful than the last one!"

"We need to deal with this." Devon stated.

"You go." Ravi told him. "I'll…"

"Ravi!" Zoey interrupted him, looking to him. She was the only one that knew what Roxy had meant to him. She took a deep breath. "You're no good to her like this."

"But Zoey…"

"Just…go and deal with this." Zoey interrupted him. "I'll bring Roxy home."

Ravi looked between Roxy and Devon, trying to decide what he should do. He wanted to stay, to try and reason with Roxy and convince her to come with them, but then he realised that was the problem. Could he really destroy her? Even if it was just an image of her, would he be able to bring himself to make the difficult choice if he needed to? He looked to Zoey and nodded gratefully, before running out with Devon, leaving Zoey and Roxy alone in the warehouse. Roxy just smirked as she saw Zoey remaining behind.

"Well, alone at last roomie." She chuckled. "So, what are you going to do? Ask me to watch crappy movies in our pyjamas?"

Zoey leapt for Roxy, aiming a kick right for her. But Roxy was too quick for her, leaping up into the air and kicking Zoey clear. Zoey tumbled along the ground at which Roxy landed a little way off.

"You think you're the only one with that trick, little bunny?" She asked her as she pulled out her Morph-X key. She pressed it into her morpher, changing form. "You forget, I was the one that earned that spot. You…you're just an accident of circumstance. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Maybe." Zoey responded as she summoned up her Morph-X sabre. "But I want my friend back!"

With that, they ran at each other, yelling battle cries.


	35. Yellow Brawl

Zoey and Roxy exchanged blows in the abandoned warehouse, each one hoping to find the opening that would let them finish the other off.

Zoey staggered backwards as she took a knee to the midriff. She was starting to realise how much of a tall order taking on Roxy really was. Not only was her morphed form easily as strong as hers, possibly even more so, she had also figured out that Roxy appeared to have the same additional ability as her, being able to match her any time she tried to take to the air. She fell to one knee as she tried to catch her breath.

"Aw, are you done already?" Roxy teased her. "I thought I taught you better than that."

Zoey had taken some Martial Arts lessons, but like other things in her life, she couldn't dedicate the time and the effort to it in order to excel. As much as it was better than nothing, one lesson a week at her local community youth centre was no substitute for proper training under a real sensei. Like the other areas she was falling behind the others in during her tenure on the Ranger program, she had been working hard to catch up, and Roxy had kind of taken her under her wing. The same Roxy she was now trying to defeat. Zoey was about to try and get back up, only to receive a hard kick to the side of her face, at which she skidded along the floor.

Roxy was starting to approach her, at which Zoey kept one shoulder dipped, and reached across her chest. Instead of clutching her ribs though, she summoned a blaster into her hand.

"Aw, did the little rabbit fall down?" Roxy asked her. "Wow, they really did just pick anyone they could get when Blaze and I split didn't they?"

Roxy placed a foot under Zoey's chin, turning her to face her, before kicking her back down. She just laughed at her as she sprawled across the floor.

"You weren't even second-best…you were the sympathy vote. I only wasted my time with you because I like charity cases." Roxy continued to berate her. "You can't fight like me; you couldn't study without me…what makes you think you're anything like a match for me?"

"I'm sneakier!" Zoey replied, rolling over and firing her blaster into Roxy's chest point-blank. Roxy was propelled backwards, hitting the floor and sliding away from her. Both Roxy and Zoey got back to their feet and ran around each other, firing shots back and forth. Their suits sparked as their blasts scored hits on each other. They were both smoking from numerous scorch marks as they finally took cover.

Roxy put down one of her blasters and grasped her stomach, feeling intense pain.

"That wasn't very nice little rabbit." She told her. "That was fighting dirty."

"It worked, didn't it?" Zoey asked her, breaking cover to fire some shots, forcing Roxy to keep her head down. The avatar looked around the edge of the barrel, before taking a pot-shot that sailed past Zoey. The Yellow Ranger paused for a moment.

"You missed!" Zoey pointed out.

"Did I?" Roxy asked her. Zoey turned to see one of the X-Bikes with its motor sparking. Roxy hadn't been aiming for her, she had been aiming for the X-bike…the X-bike which had a vial of Morph-X inside it! She ran over to it, smashing the motor with her blaster to break it free of the frame, before throwing it back in Roxy's direction. Roxy watched it sail right over her head and laughed.

"You missed!" She shot back. Zoey just smirked.

"Did I?" Zoey asked. Roxy suddenly snapped around, seeing that the motor had landed by the Morph-X barrel. She ran towards it to try and throw it away, but it exploded before she could get to it. Roxy was flipped through the air, tumbling, before hitting the ground. She started glitching in and out more frequently. She'd obviously taken some serious damage. Zoey started to make her way towards her, shuffling and stumbling a little as she went, the blaster feeling heavy in her hand. Her suit was giving her warnings that it was at critical power levels, the protection having been tested to its limits. A few more seconds, that was all she'd need. Unfortunately, she didn't get it. The suit started to glow.

She re-routed what little power she had to her blaster so she could keep it. She needed this, she needed to bring her friend back. She was almost on top of Roxy when her feet were kicked out from under her. Roxy rolled on top of her as Zoey tried to bring her blaster back around, grabbing it and wrenching it from her hand, before throwing it across the room. She took one of her own blasters, ramming the bayonet attachment into Zoey's shoulder, causing her to scream out in agony.

"Nice try roomie." Roxy congratulated her as her suit disappeared. "For a moment, I almost thought I was in trouble."

She twisted the blaster, forcing Zoey to cry out in pain.

"Any last words before…?" She started to say, before glitching a little. She shook her head, and had a confused look on her face, before looking on Zoey's battered and bloody form before her. She looked horrified at what she saw.

"Zoey?" She asked. "Zoey! What…what have I done?"

She detached the bayonet from her blaster, leaving it in the wound, dropping the blaster to her side and started to press down around the wound, putting pressure on it to stem the bleeding. Zoey looked up to her.

"Roxy?" She asked. Roxy got up, starting to back away from Zoey. "Roxy?"

She clutched at her head, and started glitching out again, before disappearing. Zoey lay back as she got onto her communicator.

"Jax…I need…"

"Zoey, are you alright?" Jax asked as Zoey tailed off, barely having time to activate the distress signal in her communicator before she passed out. "Zoey? ZOEY!"

Elsewhere in the city, Ravi and Devon were both taking on the latest giant robot sent by Scrozzle. It was stronger than the last one he had sent, and this time it seemed to be armed with the same kind of needle the Needletron had been armed with.

They had managed, so far, to keep it away from the Morph-X tower, but they were still struggling to keep it under control.

"Cruise, how's the damage report looking?" Devon asked as he was trying to get the Megazord back to its feet.

"Structural integrity is at eighty-five percent. Power level is currently ninety percent." Cruise told him. "Left stabilisers are currently down, suggest a full-reboot."

"Ravi, can you keep him busy while I handle that?" Devon asked him. Ravi's Wheeler Zord was currently swinging its fists wildly as he tried to keep the Needledrone occupied.

"I'll try." He told him. Just then, he came at the Needledrone with a double-handed overhead strike, but it slipped the attack, dodging aside. It grabbed him from behind, before shoving its weapon into his zord's back.

"Cruise, how's that reboot looking?" Devon asked.

"Ten percent complete." Cruise told him. Devon shook his head.

"Ravi, what's going on?" Devon asked him.

"This thing is draining my Morph-X!" Ravi screamed at him.

"Damn, that was sneaky." Devon commented. "Ravi, how bad is it?"

"It's draining fast!" Smash replied. "It's already down to half tank!"

"Shit, that is fast." Devon grumbled. "Cruise, how's that reboot looking?"

"Reboot is twenty five percent complete." Cruise answered. Devon just shook his head.

"It's going to have to wait. I'll just have to compensate." Devon replied, punching a few commands. "Ravi doesn't have that long before he's dead in the water."

"Cancelling the reboot means the left stabilisers will still be inactive." Cruise reminded him.

"I'll handle it!" Devon yelled.

"Reboot cancelled." Cruise assured him. Devon started to make his way towards Ravi and the Needledrone, finding his Zord listing to the left. He seized the controls tightly, correcting for the lack of mechanical support. Devon punched in some commands.

"Summoning Sabre." He called out. "Ravi, try and turn that thing this way, I've got an idea."

"It's still draining…"

"It can't drain you if it doesn't have a needle!" Devon reminded him. Ravi gulped as he watched Devon raising up the sword and starting to charge. "Trust me!"

Ravi knew that Devon was struggling with his controls, but he didn't have much of a choice. He used his zord's strength to pull it around so they were standing side-on to the Cheetah Zord. Devon's blade came down, smashing the needle from the Needletron's weapon, before body-checking it away.

"OK, we've got that clear." Devon stated. "How are you for power?"

"Down to thirty five percent of the tank." Ravi told him. "That should be enough."

"It's going to have to be." Devon told him as Needletron forced him to fall back with some blasts. "Ravi, you've got the armour and the strength, see if you can't hold that thing steady!"

"On it!" Ravi responded. "Just give me an approach."

"You know it!" Devon assured him, using his blade to deflect blasts as he ran towards the Needletron. He threw himself out to the side as Ravi lunged forward. He'd used his own Zord to obscure Needletron's view of him so he could close in. Ravi grabbed it and switched around behind it, holding it in a full nelson.

"I've got it!" Ravi told him. "How long do you need?"

"Not much longer." Devon answered, summoning the Cheetah Beast Blaster. "Alright Ravi, when I tell you, toss it this way! NOW!"

Ravi spun around, before arching his Zord backwards, flipping the Needletron overhead, slamming it headfirst into the ground. It rolled, coming back to its feet just in time for Devon to launch into the air. His sabre glowed brightly as it scythed down through the Needletron, splitting it in half from head to crotch. It exploded devastatingly, completely obliterating it. Devon and Ravi both came together.

"Virus eliminated!" Devon declared, posing in his Zord. He looked over to Ravi, seeing his Zord face-palming. He just laughed. "Dude, you have got to start enjoying this a little more!"

"Devon? Ravi?" Jax called through the communicators. "You guys have to get over here. Zoey's in a bad way!"

"We're on our way." Devon responded as his Zord broke into a run, before leaping into the air and transforming into racer mode. Ravi followed suit in his Wheeler Zord. The Emergency Services would have to take care of the scene. They, on the other hand, had more pressing matters to worry about.

Over in the Cyber Dimension, Roxy arrived back after her battle, finding Blaze and Scrozzle waiting for her. Blaze had a little smirk on his face as she got back.

"Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face, will you?" She said, rolling her eyes as she came into the room.

"Well, that was entertaining." He commented, pointing to the screen. He and Scrozzle were watching the playback of her battle with Zoey on a loop. "I think I particularly liked the part where she blew you up. That was kind of fun."

"I had her right where I wanted her." Roxy commented, leaning against one of the work benches and picking up a device, playing with it, which irritated Scrozzle to no end. "I could have finished her any time I wanted to. Besides, unless we all forget, my plan secured us far more Morph-X than yours did."

"Hey, careful with that!" Scrozzle said, snatching the device from her, putting it back on the bench tenderly.

"Jeez, learn to share Scrozzie." She laughed. Blaze just got up and stood before her.

"I'm not so sure Evox is going to see this as quite the same success you do." He threatened her. "Especially when you insist you could have taken her out and didn't. It just makes me wonder why you didn't."

"Oh Blaze, always so quick and talented with your fists, not so much with your brains. Your daddy really did waste all that money on those fancy schools he sent you to didn't he?" She asked him, causing Blaze to tense up, clenching his jaw impatiently. "I learned something today…more like confirmed a theory, and let's just say that's a lot more valuable than one dead Ranger."

She started to walk away, before turning and winking to him.

"Watch and learn." She concluded as she disappeared.

Back at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Zoey was starting to come around. She started to move, reaching for her oxygen mask when a hand took hers softly. She looked aside, seeing Nate by her bedside.

"No, don't, you should keep that on for now." He told her. His hand felt so soft and warm against hers, that she couldn't help caressing his in turn. He pulled away as he started to stammer, looking at some tests. "I've introduced some nutrients intravenously and I've stitched up your injury. It's already starting to heal but it should be a couple of days before you're a hundred percent."

"Where is she?" Devon asked as he came in with Ravi. They both came to Zoey's side. "Zoey, Zoey, are you alright?"

"This is all my fault." Ravi started to say. "This should be me; I should never have left you alone with Roxy…"

Zoey tried to move, but Devon and Ravi both gestured to her to stay still.

"Whoa, you should not be moving!" Ravi said to her. "I can't…I can't believe Roxy did this to you…how could I be so wrong about…?"

"Zoey, keep the mask on." Nate instructed her, but she pulled it off anyway.

"The…the animals?" She asked. They all breathed a bit of a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least we know being impaled, blown up and beaten to within an inch of your life doesn't change you." Devon chuckled as he looked to her.

"They're in the spare hangar." Nate assured her. "We brought back as many as we could before the Zord battle."

"That's not enough." Zoey said as she tried to get up. "We need to get back out there. We need…"

"You are going absolutely nowhere." Ravi told her.

"But…"

"No buts!" Devon stated. "You've got a bigger fight. You have to try and convince my dad about those X-bikes."

"You leave the critters to us." Ravi assured her. "Jax can handle the laundry. Smash and Cruise will help us. You just get better."

"Thanks Ravi." Zoey answered. He took her hand, holding it gently.

"You tried to bring her home." Ravi reminded her. "I owe you for that."

With that, he and Devon headed out. Nate finished taking some of her test results.

"OK, I've got some more to do, but I'll check on you in a little while." He told her.

"Wait, you're leaving me alone?" She asked him.

"Don't worry, you won't be alone." He assured her, before leaving. As he left, he pressed a button, opening up screens on the other side of the infirmary. Ben and Betty were sitting in their beds, covered in bandages, but were smiling brightly and waving enthusiastically.

"Hey, Zoey!" Betty called out. "How's it going Roomie?"

"You got stitches too?" Ben asked her. Zoey just turned over and picked up her tablet.

"You alright?" Ben asked her.

"I've just…got to figure out a pitch for the mayor." She sighed. "After all this, I'm going to need a miracle if he's going to back the X-bikes."

"Want a hand?" Betty asked her, struggling to get out of her bed and come over. Ben rolled out of his bed and grabbed a chair, scurrying over.

"Yeah, we can help you write it." Ben rushed out. Zoey just smiled and gestured them in.

"Thanks guys." She replied, holding the tablet so they could see it. "I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get."

A while later, over in the woods, Devon and Ravi were packing up as many animals as they could get. They only had one truck, but since they were still using Grid Battleforce resources for Zoey's pet project, they didn't want to risk exhausting Commander Shaw's good graces.

"Hey, check this out. A Praying Mantis!" Devon said with a smile as he showed the container to Ravi.

"You into bugs?" He asked. Devon just shook his head.

"I've played almost every fighting game ever released. Trust me, I know what a Praying Mantis is." Devon chuckled as Ravi went back to what he was doing. Ravi went to collect another crate when he paused, thinking about the day's events. He took a deep breath.

"We were together." Ravi announced, before looking to Devon. "Roxy and me. I mean…we were…before."

"I kind of figured." Devon replied sympathetically. "I didn't want to pry, you made it clear that you didn't want to push things."

"Yeah, but after what happened to Zoey, I just, I really feel like I'm responsible." Ravi admitted. "She stayed and fought Roxy because she knew I…"

"Hey man, I get it." Devon said as they both took a seat together. "It's been a while, but I've dated before. I wouldn't have wanted to fight any of my exes."

"This was exactly the kind of thing the rules were put in place to prevent. I let Zoey take on Roxy because it was tough for me and I didn't want to face her. If I had just done what I was meant to…"

"Dude, if there's one thing I've learned about Zoey since all this started, it's that precisely no one can make her do something she doesn't want to do." Devon assured him. "She was Roxy's friend too. She wouldn't have taken on that fight if she didn't think it was the right thing to do."

He got up and gestured to Ravi to do the same.

"Come on, we should be able to get a few more into the truck." Devon told him. "And thanks…thanks for telling me."

"It was keeping it to myself that caused this." Ravi reminded him. "And if I'm honest, it feels nice to have someone I could talk to about it. There aren't many at Grid Battleforce I can." Devon just smiled.

"So, tell me, what was she like?" Devon asked him as they grabbed another couple of crates.

"Oh, how long have you got?" Ravi asked him as they returned to work.

The following day, Zoey got out of bed, completely against any kind of protests from Nate or anyone else. Although it was not quite the end of the week, she'd heard that Mayor Daniels was holding a press conference at the woods. The fact he was holding it in the woods made her worried that he had indeed made up his mind to go ahead with the road. The attack on the bikes had to have people worried about them, and although she still had a couple of days left on their deal, she did worry there simply wasn't the interest any more.

Ravi pulled up the truck as the press started to assemble. Zoey moved rather gingerly to say the least. Ravi helped her down.

"You don't have to do this…"

"I'll heal." She told him. "The wood might not have that kind of time."

She ran over to where Devon was talking to her mom.

"Mom, where's the mayor? I want to show him these cool new plans for X-bikes." Zoey told her.

"I don't know, I guess he's running late sweetie." Muriel answered. Devon just sighed.

"Look, we tried our best, but my dad's stubborn." Devon told her. "My dad's not going to change his mind just because you coolified the X-bikes."

"But I still have…"

"You did your best." Nate sighed, coming to her side as he looked to her sympathetically. "No one could have done more. But sometimes…some fights just can't be won."

"No, it…it can't end like this. I can't let it." Zoey replied. Muriel looked around as they heard the sound of an X-bike engine coming their way. They were just in time to see Mayor Daniels and his Personal Aide arriving on the bikes. They skidded to a halt near them as the other press started to close in, realising he had arrived.

"Dad. Where's your limo?" Devon asked him. Mayor Daniels just smiled at him.

"Why would I need a limo? This is much more fun!" He said as he took off his helmet. "Just keeping with the trend. Didn't you see the news last night?"

"News?" They all asked, looking to each other, all except for Muriel who had queued up her footage on a tablet and slipped it in between them to show them. It was the footage she had shown of the X-bike chase through the city. Zoey turned to her mom.

"Mom, did you do this?" She asked. Muriel just raised her eyebrows.

"I guess it went viral." She said with a knowing little smirk. The Rangers were the biggest thing to hit Coral Harbour and so it went without saying that anything the Rangers were seen endorsing would get a massive boost in attention.

"It sure did. My phone hasn't stopped ringing with people asking where they can get those bikes." Mayor Daniels told her. "Every stand is empty. Every single one has been checked out."

"They have?" Ravi asked him. He just nodded. Mayor Daniels gestured to the rest of the reporters assembled.

"I hereby declare this road project permanently cancelled, and am announcing that the city will be ordering 10,000 new X-bikes for loan. And that's just for starters."

Zoey let out a massive shriek and jumped with excitement, grabbing Nate and squeezing him tight, before backing away from him. She looked to Mayor Daniels and the other reporters as she realised, she was on camera.

"Uh…sorry." She responded.

"That's alright. You did a brilliant job Zoey. You should be proud." Mayor Daniels told her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to the office. I'm expecting a LOT of calls!"

As he rode off, Zoey turned back to her friends, hugging them all excitedly.

"Thank you, guys, I owe you all so much!" She told them.

"Hey, its fine. It was important to you." Devon answered. Zoey looked to her mom, who looked delighted to see her so happy. She went to her and hugged her.

"Mom, thank you!"

"I just shot the footage. It was the Rangers that made your bikes look so fantastic." She said to her daughter.

"Uh…yeah…the Rangers." Zoey said a little uneasily. "Thank you, Rangers,…whoever you are."

"Wait, didn't you write that hit-piece on the Rangers?" Ravi asked. Zoey just rather unsubtly kicked Ravi in the shin.

"I might have my reservations, but I know they're the most popular thing in the city right now." Muriel told him, before looking back to her daughter, stroking her hair gently. "The city has a hero with a face."

"Mom, you're embarrassing me." Zoey said, beginning to glow bright red. Muriel just kissed her on the cheek.

"I'd love to meet you for lunch some time." She said to her, before looking around at the others. "All of you! I'd love to hear about your new friends. But I imagine you've all got work to do right now."

"Thanks again mom." Zoey called as she started to leave. "I'll call you!"

With that, Devon just sighed.

"So, I guess that means we have to bring all those animals back now." He commented. "Come on, the sooner we get started, the sooner we'll finish."

"But ONLY after we get Zoey back to her dorm!" Nate replied.

"Nate…"

"You shouldn't even be out of the infirmary!" Nate reminded her. "We can handle this, you just…"

"Come on." Devon said with a smile. "I'll take you. I'll meet the rest of you at the hangar."

A while later, Devon and Zoey got back to Grid Battleforce on Cruise, at which he transformed back into his robot form and helped Devon guide her to her room.

"Guys, seriously, I can walk." Zoey said in an exasperated tone. Devon just looked at her.

"Yeah, but we just want to make sure you don't lose your way." He reminded her. They got to her dorm, at which she let them inside. She headed to the couch.

"So, I'm here." She sighed. "Are you going to tuck me in too?"

"If you think that's necessary." Devon replied, looking around. "So, you were Roxy's roomie?"

"Yeah, I was." Zoey muttered. "She was the best…except for her housekeeping habits."

"Really? You're blaming the person that can't defend themselves for the fact this place is a pigsty?" He chuckled. She just picked up a t-shirt and threw it at him.

"OK, maybe not ALL the mess is hers, but most of it is." Zoey told him. "She used to leave her laundry lying around all the time. Drove me absolutely nuts. And do not get me started on the pop tarts…"

"Zoey, is this Roxy's?" He asked, looking to the T-shirt. It had a logo on it. She just nodded.

"Yeah, it is." Zoey replied. "It's from her aunt's company. Collins' Industries. They used to send her promotional stuff all the time. Came in quite handy. I've never run out of pens since I moved in with Roxy…"

"Cruise!" Devon called out, before running out of the dorm room.

"Devon, where are you going?" Zoey yelled. "DEVON?"

As they disappeared though, she just shrugged and headed to the couch, turning on the television.

Devon roared through the streets on Cruise, returning to the warehouse from before. He skidded to a halt outside, heading to the crime scene tape and ducked underneath it.

"Devon, the others will be waiting for you." Cruise told him. "Devon, what are you doing here?"

"I'm just checking something." Devon said, heading into the warehouse. He looked around, seeing the site of their battle the day before. The walls and the floor carried scorch marks from the blaster fire and explosions. Cruise came to Devon's side.

"Devon, we should get to the others." Cruise reminded him. Devon looked up and saw a sign, pointing at it. "What?"

"Collins Industries." He said aloud as he looked to Cruise.

"Devon…"

"Yeah, we'll get back to the others." Devon interrupted Cruise as they started to leave. "We've got a lot of animals to get home."

As Cruise turned back into his motorcycle form and Devon pulled on his helmet, he couldn't help pondering what he had found out. There were a lot of warehouses in the district that weren't in use at any one time. The whole point of a warehouse was that it was empty so that they could be used for storage whenever the owner needed to store stock. When they were full, they weren't much use to anyone.

However, out of all the available units, Roxy had picked this one. One that was owned by her family. It was of course possible it was a complete coincidence, but he had his doubts. The only thing he wasn't sure about was what it all meant.


	36. A Favour For Dad

The next couple of days were surprisingly quiet around Grid Battleforce. It was a welcome change. The team weren't optimistic enough to believe that Evox didn't have the means to launch any more attacks. In fact, in the short time since Blaze and Roxy's avatars had been created and they had allied themselves with Scrozzle, they'd managed already to steal over a dozen barrels of Morph-X, which meant they had enough to last them quite a while. The more likely explanation was that they were taking time to consider their next move and their next target carefully.

Devon was well aware of the fact that they likely weren't wasting their time. He'd played enough real-time strategy games in his time to know that the biggest mistake a lot of players made was to spend far too much time just concentrating on their own small areas of the map. The games were called "real-time" for a reason. The computer AI had just exactly the same time to plan and build as the player. They didn't stand still in select areas waiting to be "aggro'd" when the player walked into the zone that triggered their attack patterns. They were building, they were making moves, and it wasn't the first time a player was so busy focusing on their own area they had no idea the enemy had built up their own forces and defences to the point that an unstoppable army suddenly turned up on their doorstep.

He was lying on his bed, waiting for some inspiration. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about Blaze and Roxy he was missing. He had his suspicions about some of the things they were doing. Still, he wasn't entirely sure what it meant. It was easy to think that Evox had just created copies of Blaze and Roxy because of their skills, because they were powerful Ranger candidates, but he also knew when there was something more to a situation that could be used.

When he had first played Final Fantasy VII, he'd had a little trouble with the character Rude, a strong enemy that would act as an obstacle at certain times of the game. However, he had found out through a conversation that was overheard in the game that he had a crush on one of the main protagonists, Tifa. When he and his friends talked about it afterwards, they noticed a strange thing that kept happening, if Tifa was chosen to be in the party, then Rude wouldn't attack her as long as anyone else was still standing!

It was a little-known fact at the time, but it did mean that it was possible to create a whole strategy around building Tifa as a glass cannon for any fights involving him, giving her upgrades that would increase her damage output to the maximum possible and completely ignore her defence, while setting up the other characters to be damage sponges. All they needed to do was not die while Tifa could take him out in only a couple of turns!

He already knew that he couldn't very well rely on that being the case with Blaze and Roxy. Blaze had been more than a little sadistic before he became an avatar, as for Roxy…he winced a little on the bed. It still made him uncomfortable thinking about what Roxy had done to Zoey, who had been one of her best friends. He'd only seen her after she had been brought back to the infirmary and patched up, but from what he had heard from Nate it was more than a little bit of a horror show when she was brought in. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something. There was something weird going on with them, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He heard a knock on the door. He looked across to see the door opening and his dad coming in.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked. He didn't sound like he was using a sarcastic tone, despite finding his son lying fully-clothed on top of his bed at the unforgivably late hour of 10:00AM. It was a little hard not to feel like it was a shot regardless, given the number of times they'd clashed heads over…in all honesty he wasn't sure he could remember when they weren't fighting. It just felt like so long. He just sat up and gestured his dad in. Mayor Daniels came into the room and sat down with his son, looking around. He was fidgeting a little.

"Something I can help you with?" Devon asked him.

"No, no, I was just…wondering if we could catch up a little." He told him. "You know, just…talk."

"Just talk?" Devon asked him. "About what?"

"I don't know, it's just, it's been a while and it feels like some things have changed and I just wanted to see if everything is alright." Mayor Daniels told him. "Like…that bike in the driveway. One day you come home and you're riding a motorcycle? Where did you even get it? When were you into motorcycles?"

"I've always liked them, I just never got round to getting one." Devon told him.

"Where'd you get the money?" He asked. Devon just rolled his eyes.

"You think I ripped it off?" He said in an irritated tone. Mayor Daniels just held up his hands defensively.

"No, no, I didn't…I didn't say that." Mayor Daniels said, realising what it had to sound like. "It's just, it looks like a nice bike and I was wondering how you got it."

"A friend gave it to me." Devon said semi-truthfully. He hadn't been thinking the first time he rode his bike back to the house. After that, when his dad hadn't said anything, he just kind of got into the habit of riding Cruise home. Thinking about it now, it wasn't really the best way to keep a low profile or a secret identity. He didn't have a job, something his dad was annoyingly aware of, so how else would he get it? Nate had given him Cruise, so that part of the story was true but it was definitely stretching it to the point of complete distortion.

"Nice friend." Mayor Daniels commented, but he sucked his teeth as soon as he said it. "I didn't mean that how it sounded. I meant, if someone gave you such a nice gift, they must be a good friend. Was it one of those people I met you with in the woods?"

"It was." Devon answered. Again, this was largely true. Nate had been there and had indeed given him Cruise. He just didn't think his dad needed to know that he had given him a transforming robot that was the control system to a highly classified and extremely powerful weapon's system.

"Well, it's nice to see you out there making friends." Mayor Daniels said with a smile. "I met Nate before…Zoey too, she's nice. Very driven. Where'd you meet the rest of them?"

"They all work for Grid Battleforce." Devon told him. Mayor Daniels just looked to him a little curiously, at which Devon realised his mistake. "Um…Ravi was teaching some of the karate classes I was taking at Riptide, he works on the base. I met the others through them."

"Well, that's…that's good." Mayor Daniels told him. "You and Zoey are you…?"

"What? No!" Devon rushed out. "I mean, she's nice and everything but no, we're just friends."

"Sorry, I was just curious." He said as he started to fidget. "So, now you have a vehicle. That's a big responsibility."

"Dad…"

"You need to keep it fuelled up, keep it in parts, pay insurance…" Mayor Daniels told him. "All of that quickly adds up."

"Dad…"

"Just hear me out." Mayor Daniels said to him. "It's a nice bike, and it'd be a good thing to be able to keep it that way. So, maybe having a little extra money wouldn't be a bad thing?"

"Dad, not this again!" Devon groaned, getting up and pacing. Mayor Daniels realised he had let this get away from him. He just got up.

"Look, I have a friend, he was one of my first bosses actually. He owns a car wash." Mayor Daniels told him. "It's called Sudsy's."

"Sudsy?" Devon sniggered. "Is that his real name?"

"What do you think?" Mayor Daniel asked in response. "Look, he's looking for new people. I thought maybe if you helped him out a little, it could put a little extra cash in your pocket and you could get to clean that bike of yours while you're at it. I'm sure Sudsy would be happy to…"

Devon didn't want to wash cars. He'd never had any desire to do so. However, he did also appreciate that his dad was trying to reach out to him, and he had also been acting pretty strangely lately. Coming home at odd times, disappearing for the whole day at a time, turning up with a brand-new racing bike and no apparent way of having paid for it…he saw the hopeful look on his dad's face and breathed a sigh.

"Fine, I'll swing by and talk to him." Devon responded. Mayor Daniels smiled brightly.

"You won't regret this son; I promise you won't." Mayor Daniels told him. "I'll call Sudsy, tell him you'll be around tomorrow."

"Never mind that, I don't have anything better to do today." Devon said, gathering up his jacket. "I'll swing by now, check it out. Introduce myself."

"Thank you, son." Mayor Daniels said. Devon just smiled, before heading out. He had hoped to spend some time pondering the mystery of Blaze and Roxy, but if he was honest, he was drawing a blank on that right now anyway. He had found himself solving a lot of problems by coming back to them after resting for a little while and coming back at them with fresh eyes. If in the meantime he could earn some Brownie points with his dad, perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Over at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Zoey and Ravi were in the gym sparring. Zoey was grateful for Nate's technology, and the healing benefits of their Ranger powers. By all rights she should have been facing weeks, perhaps even months of recuperation after the beating she took at Roxy's hands, but here she was only days later, working out again.

Ravi was helping her with her training now. He was officially a physical training officer on the base, he had a vast knowledge of anatomy and exercise that made him ideal for the job. He was able to push Zoey while also being able to understand the limits to prevent her hurting herself further. It was just as well, the enthusiasm with which Zoey was throwing herself into the training was so much if he didn't rein her in, she'd probably put herself in a full body-cast if she was left to her own devices.

"Nice." He complimented her as they parted a little. "Want to take a little break?"

"Actually…"

"Let me rephrase. We're taking a break!" Ravi chuckled. "Remember, in here I outrank you. If I ever go to the laundry, I'll listen to you, but in here you follow my orders."

As they stepped off the mats, Jax and Smash were waiting for them.

"Ravi, you want a drink?" He asked. "I have all sorts of juices and waters and…"

"Smash, it's fine, just water will do." Ravi assured him. Zoey took some juice from her bag as she sat with Jax.

"Nice work Zoey, you were crushing it out there!" Jax complimented her.

"Doesn't feel like it." Zoey answered.

"No, he's right, you've been coming along great." Ravi assured her. "You were pretty much run through only a couple of days ago."

"I just really want to be ready if Roxy comes back." Zoey told him. "So, what are we doing next, sir?"

She saluted him, which made Ravi smile a little. He still felt responsible for Zoey's injuries. She'd only even taken on the fight with Roxy because she knew Ravi would find it almost impossible to fight back against her if things got tough. She'd been trying to spare him and it had almost cost her life. He was grateful to her, and wanted to do whatever he could to pay her back.

"I think we've done enough sparring for the time being." He told her. "I was thinking we could hit the weight room for a bit."

"Oh, because that's fair." She chuckled.

"Hey, it's more frustrating than anything for me." He admitted. "I used to love weight training, now I know I have to limit myself. Do you know what it's like knowing I can bench about 800 pounds but if I do, I might just end up tearing half the base apart?"

"Tell you what, if you want sympathy, come speak to me if you face-plant into the floor because you skipped lunch." She answered as they headed to the weight room. "Then maybe I'll play you the world's smallest violin."

"Oh, it's like that now is it?" He asked as they headed out. "Just for that, now I'm really going to push you!"

Elsewhere in the city, Devon pulled up outside the car wash. It wasn't too hard to find. The owner, "Sudsy", had picked a location pretty central to the business and retail districts, just off one of the freeways. He got a steady trade not only from passing traffic, but also from the numerous businesses that wanted to keep their fleet of working vehicles looking their best. Delivery vans, trucks, even a few bikes were regularly passing through on long-standing contracts. As he parked up Cruise, Devon pulled off his helmet and looked around.

"This looks nice." Cruise said to him. "Oh, is that a wax-machine?"

"Cruise, you know most people's vehicles don't talk to them." Devon said.

"But you promised…"

"I said if we were allowed, I'd get you a good wash." Devon replied. "But I need to find Sudsy first. Shouldn't take me too long."

As he approached, he saw a limousine parked up near the office. There was a man with a beard and blue overalls looking over a stack of papers held by a man in a suit. Devon figured this was Sudsy and started to head over. As he got closer, he could hear the discussion.

"Look, it's a generous offer." The man in the suit said. "This is way over the market value for this site."

"That's as may be, but I'm afraid the answer is the same. It's just not for sale." Sudsy said, turning away from the man. "I'm sorry, but I'm very busy…"

"Please, just consider what we're offering." The man pressed on. "I understand how daunting it can be to start over at this stage in your life…"

"This stage in my…? I'm only fifty-two!" Sudsy yelled at him.

"All I'm saying is perhaps we can work something out." He continued. "Early retirement is a dream for many. Imagine how much more time you could spend with your family."

"It might be a dream to some, but I like my work!" He replied. "You can tell Mr Winchester thank you for his kind offer, but my answer is the same. It's not for sale!"

The two men got into the limo and drove off, narrowly missing Devon on the way. He just smirked.

"You'd think being able to afford a car like that they could afford some manners." Devon joked. Sudsy just smiled.

"You…you must be Adam's boy!" Sudsy announced with a cheerful tone. Devon just nodded. It was a little unusual to hear anyone refer to his dad by his first name. Most people, even those that worked closely with him, generally referred to him as 'Mayor Daniels'. Sudsy reached out, crabbing Devon's face and inspecting it. "You've got more hair, but there's no way anyone could deny that mug!"

"Dad said you might have some work…"

"Oh, I've always got work." Sudsy declared, gesturing to Devon to follow him. "I don't have much in the way of rules here, in fact all I have is two. One, all I ask is a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. You do right by me, I do right by you."

"And the second rule?" Devon asked. Sudsy threw a set of blue overalls at him.

"Everyone wears a uniform." He told him. "Now, I don't want to hear any complaints about how it's not stylish or how it looks stupid or…"

"You want me to dress as Mario?" Devon interrupted him with a shrug. "Cool. I can live with that."

"Good. Then you start now." He replied, patting his shoulder. "Get started, if you have any questions, ask one of the others or I'm just in the office."

As Sudsy walked away, Devon went to get changed. He didn't really want to wash cars for a living. He could think of many things that he'd much rather be doing, but he figured if he worked here for a couple of weeks then perhaps his dad would find something else to concern himself with. There was always something going on in the city that would mean more meetings and press conferences to distract him.

He was just about to grab some cleaning supplies when he heard his communicator going off.

"Great, that's just…" He started to say, before answering it. "Devon here."

"Devon, we need you for an urgent team meeting." Commander Shaw told him. "The General himself is going to be here."

"Look, I understand but I've…"

"Devon, this meeting is mandatory!" She put down flatly. "I'll expect you here right away!"

Devon knew better than to question or mess with the Commander. His position as Red Ranger, and as the mayor's son did afford him a little leeway…at least enough that she hadn't already had him arrested on charges of espionage for breaking into Grid Battleforce, but he did know that he couldn't take it for granted that he couldn't push his luck too far.

"I'll be there." He told her, looking around and hoping that no one saw him, before heading over to Cruise and riding away.

In the Cyber Dimension, Scrozzle came to find Blaze in his workshop, looking through some of his things.

"You know, I think I liked it better when I didn't have a couple of avatars making themselves at home, helping themselves to my equipment." He whined as he saw Blaze carelessly tossing around some tools. "Hey, watch that!"

"Relax Scrozzle, you'll live longer." Blaze replied.

"I don't suffer ill effects of stress like humans." He reminded him. Blaze picked up a circular saw and pressed the button, revving the engine a few times.

"Who said anything about stress?" Blaze asked him.

"Where's Roxy?" Scrozzle asked him. Blaze just shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care." He responded in an off-hand way. "She's still working on whatever nonsense she was talking about after the last attack."

"Master Evox asked to see us!" Scrozzle informed him. Blaze just shrugged again.

"Then I guess we go." He replied, heading for Evox's chamber. "If he's pissed with Roxy, that's no skin off my nose."

"Hey, bring that saw back!" Scrozzle called out as he ran after him. "HEY! Bring that back!"

**A/N:** Yes, changed the order a little. I fully intend to adapt "Digital Deception", I haven't skipped it, it is one of my favourite episodes! But I felt the order works a little better this way for the story I've got in mind. Hope you enjoy it.


	37. Cleaning Up

A couple of blocks from the car wash, a Limo was in the parking lot of a burger joint. Three men in suits, one with a driver's hat as well, were sitting in a booth in the restaurant having lunch. Although they had been turned down by Sudsy, they didn't want to go too far. They'd been left under little doubt that Mr Winchester wanted the car was plot and he wasn't too keen on hearing no for an answer.

"What can I say? The old geezer is stubborn." The lawyer told him between sips of coffee. He picked up a piece of apple pie, taking a bite. "I mean, the offer is way more than the property is worth, what else was I meant to do?"

"I don't care what you have to do I want that land!" Winchester told him. "The middle of the business district with freeway access? That land is absolute gold!"

"But the owner knows that. He has cars and vans coming out his ears all day." The lawyer carried on, taking another bite. "I pointed out he could retire, but he doesn't want to! He said he likes working."

"He likes the money more likely." Mr Winchester snorted. "How much more do you think it's going to take?"

"I don't know, I get the feeling he's not interested in money." He replied.

"Everyone's interested in money!" Mr Winchester assured him. "It's just a case of finding out the point at which it's more costly than it's worth to keep it."

"Sir, it's not like we can MAKE him sell the property." The lawyer reminded him. "If he doesn't want to…"

Just then, there was a loud crash from outside. They all turned to the window in time to see some red streaks, rushing past the limo. With each pass, pieces of it just seemed to fly off. With the last pass, the whole thing fell into pieces.

"What the hell?" The lawyer called out as he ran outside with the other two.

"What is it?" Mr Winchester asked. "What's going on?"

"Uh…I'm going to have to call you back." The lawyer replied as he hung up the phone. He went to the car, seeing it neatly sliced into pieces.

Devon ran into the Command Centre, coming into the room completely oblivious to General Burke's presence. He had raced over as soon as he got the call from Commander Shaw. He still didn't know if Sudsy had noticed the fact he was gone. There were a lot of cars and a lot of employees so it was entirely possible he wouldn't notice just one, particularly if they were busy. He had never had a job before, but even he knew that it was considered good form for someone to at least start actually working before they wandered off the job site.

"Guys, what's so urgent? It told you I got this job!" He complained. Ravi, Zoey and Nate all quickly shooshed him and pulled him into line. He was turned to see Commander Shaw, who had her face in her hands, and a much larger guy that Devon hadn't seen before. He was wearing a much more ornate uniform than hers, and had a chest full of medals. He had played enough strategy games to know that generally meant it was someone with a significant rank. Given the way everyone was acting, it looked like he outranked the Commander. He wasn't sure there was anyone that outranked the Commander, as far as he knew she was the one running the whole thing.

"General Burke, may I present our Rangers. Of course, you know Nate." She declared, presenting the Rangers to him. General Burke had left shortly after the selection committee had disbanded. He had a number of duties to take care of, and had left the base in Commander Shaw's care. He had, of course, been briefed on the incident which led to the fact the final team of Rangers was not the ones that had been selected, but he hadn't yet been formally introduced to them. He went to Ravi first, saluting him. Ravi returned the gesture.

"Good to see Evox didn't get all of you." He stated. Ravi just nodded.

"It was a close thing sir." He replied. He took a little sidestep to the right and stood before Zoey. He pointed to her and his face was an expression of recognition.

"Reeves, isn't it?" He asked.

"Yes…" She said, before saluting. "Um…yes, sir. Zoey Reeves sir."

"Yes, I recall." He drew in closer and whispered to her. "I can honestly say, I've never been more glad to be wrong."

Zoey smiled and blushed a little as he backed away, before looking to Devon. He stood, staring at him blankly, observing him curiously.

"So, this would be our civilian would it?" General Burke asked. Commander Shaw had briefed him on the fact that Nate had created the Rangers out of who was available at the time. She'd had to tell him about the fact that one of the Rangers was in fact a civilian who had just happened to be in the base at the time. It wasn't ideal, in fact it was about as far from preferred protocol as anyone could get, but she had to let him know that one of the Rangers wasn't only not one of the original candidates, but wasn't even a Grid Battleforce employee.

"I guess you could say that." Devon said nervously, extending a hand. "Devon. Devon Daniels."

The General shook his hand, but looked to Commander Shaw. He trusted her judgement; they'd served together long enough to have entrusted everything to each other on more than one occasion. However, it was pretty clear that the whole situation was testing everyone's benefit of the doubt to the very limits. General Burke looked to the team.

"Well, I think we can all say that things have not gone as expected, but I've been kept appraised of your situation and I have to say your performance under these far from typical circumstances has been admirable." General Burke began.

"There's typical circumstances for this?" Devon asked. The others just tensed up at that. General Burke glared at him, but then carried on with his briefing.

"However, we cannot just sit back and let Evox call the shots. It's time for Grid Battleforce to go on the offensive." He declared bombastically. "Fortunately, someone on the base has had a great idea! My two brilliant children!"

"Hi dad!" Betty declared cheerfully as she and Ben hobbled into the room, still covered in bandages and dressings from their injuries at Blaze's hands. Devon just started sniggering.

"They're his kids?" He asked. "Well, that explains a lot."

"Not cool." Ravi whispered abruptly. Ravi had heard all of this from the beginning. The fact he was Commander Shaw's son had led to a lot of accusations of nepotism and favouritism. He was more than aware of what it was like being a kid working under a parent in a position of power. No matter what he did, there were always some who only saw the surname and assumed that they were only there because of their parents. Ben and Betty weren't necessarily the most gifted of people on the base, but they more than made up for it with enthusiasm and a work ethic that put a lot of officers to shame. Devon just held his hands up apologetically. It looked like General Burke and the twins hadn't actually heard him. The General was too busy beaming with pride as Ben and Betty set up a projector and started to explain their idea on the wall.

"The biggest problem we've had all along is we don't know what Evox is, or how he came to be here." Betty began.

"Not to mention we don't know anything about Scrozzle or any of his tech." Ben chipped in. "But we think that is something we can do something about!"

"After each attack, there's been pieces of Scrozzle's technology left behind." Betty reminded them. "Up until now, they've been getting cleared up and taken to recycling along with anything else that was damaged in the attacks to clear the way for rebuilding."

"Until now, the city has been clearing them into holding facilities, scheduled to be melted down. They didn't want to take the risk that anything we hook up to here might infect our systems like Evox did." Ben stated. "But we were just thinking, if we instead brought them to a secure location off-site…"

"Then maybe we can study their tech and see what we're up against." Nate concluded. "Guys, I think Ben and Betty might be onto something."

"Yes, I really think they are onto something!" General Burke said proudly. "My division has a special ops black site facility just west of the city. Feel free to use that for any of your needs."

"I'll contact the holding facilities and tell them to expect you." Commander Shaw stated. "They'll have the parts ready for collection. We'll have the co-ordinates of the black site uploaded to your Beast Bots immediately. Devon, can I have a word?"

As the others headed off to get started, Commander Shaw just looked to him.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know the General was coming." Devon told her. "Come to that…I didn't know anyone outranked you…I thought you were…"

"As far as you're concerned, I'm in charge." She sighed. Devon just fell quiet as she reprimanded him. "Devon, I understand your situation is unique among the Rangers. Zoey and Ravi both work on-site, but I expect you to be able to respond to a call."

"Look, I'm sorry, I just got this job…"

"Yes, this job." She said, looking to his overalls. "What made you think it was a good idea to take on a commitment like that while you have your responsibilities here?"

"Look, I know I've got a lot on my plate, but this is really important to my dad." Devon answered.

"To your dad?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'll…I'll make it up to the others, but right now I've got to get back." He said as he ran out of the base. Commander Shaw just sighed and got onto her communicator.

"Ravi, Zoey, begin the collection without Devon." She told them. "He'll catch up when he can."

"Ten-Four Commander." Ravi acknowledged. Commander Shaw went to her control console and sat down, contemplating Devon's situation. They had a certain level of luxury with Zoey and Ravi, both of them lived and worked on the base. Everyone on the base already knew they were Rangers and were sworn to secrecy. In Devon's case, he not only had commitments outside the base, but one of the people he had to keep his secret from was one of the most famous people in the city! They had to give him a certain level of leeway in what he had to do to keep his secret, but she was starting to worry when that would be too much.

Later in the day, Devon was back at the car wash. Sudsy had noticed him leaving and was far from happy. He had given him a warning, not to mention a long lecture about responsibility and the fact he needed his workers to be on-site. Devon, to his credit, hadn't made any excuses. Not only could he not really think of any excuses for leaving the work site straight after getting the job, he was willing to take it on the chin and take his lumps. He could see Sudsy's point. He wouldn't have blamed him if he had fired him on the spot, but after telling him some stories about when his dad worked there, he gave him another chance for his dad's sake.

Devon did his best to make the most out of the rest of the day. He didn't know how long he intended to keep the job, but he did want to show his dad he could commit, that he could at very least hold onto a job for a little while.

The work was hard, the vehicles came in thick and fast and there was barely any time to rest between one vehicle and the next, but in many ways that just meant the time went by. Even Sudsy seemed a little happier too. Devon was working on a car when his dad's limo came rolling in. Devon saw his dad coming towards him, and there was something about him. He looked happy to see him.

"Hey there son!" He greeted him.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Devon asked him.

"I just thought I'd swing by and see how the new job is going." He said, beaming brightly. He had a definite bounce in his step as he came over. "So, how was the first day?"

"What do you mean 'was'?" Devon asked him.

"It's five o'clock." Mayor Daniels told him. "I was hoping we could go for dinner. I know a great burger place nearby…"

"I'd love to dad, but I've got a lot to do here." Devon told him. Sudsy came over as he saw Mayor Daniels.

"I appreciate the work ethic, but you've been here the whole day. Last thing I need is for the Mayor of this great city to accuse me of unfair labour practices."

He slapped some money into Devon's hand. Devon just looked to it a little curiously.

"I thought I got paid at the end of the month?" Devon responded.

"You do…that's just your share of the tips." Sudsy told him. "Finish up that one and get out of here. Adam, how about you show that kid of yours some of your old moves? He could do with the lessons!"

As Sudsy walked away, Mayor Daniels took off his jacket and tossed it over a nearby chair.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Devon asked him.

"What does it look like?" He asked in response, grabbing a hose.

As they started work on the car, Devon couldn't help smiling.

Meanwhile, over at the Black Ops site, Nate had already set up his work station, while the Rangers had spent the whole day bringing in bits and pieces from various Gigadrones, tronics and Robotrons that had been smashed up in the Rangers' various fights across the city. Although some of the parts had already been melted down, completely destroyed, most of it was still awaiting processing. No one was really sure what to do with the pieces afterwards, since the only thing they knew about Evox was that as a virus they didn't want to inadvertently give him another way into their system again. Ravi and Zoey de-morphed as they approached him.

"That's the last of the stuff in storage." Ravi told him as they came to see what Nate was doing. Seeing as they were the ones that were going to have to fight these machines, they wanted to know anything he could tell them.

"Learn anything useful?" Zoey asked him.

"Not so far." Nate said as he hooked some pieces up to a computer. It was not connected to the mainframe, a precaution in case of trojans, but it had the capability to read what was on the machinery. "Near as I can tell from the files, the big ones are called Gigadrones, while the smaller ones are called Robotrons."

"I guess at least we know the names of what we're fighting now." Zoey replied, moving in next to him to get a close look at the screen. She felt herself brush up against him, and looked to the side, to see him looking at her. They both just moved a little bit away from each other. Ravi picked up a piece and held it up. It looked like a robot head, but it didn't look familiar. It didn't look like it belonged to any of the robots they had fought up until now.

"Not all of this is from our fights." He declared, turning it to show Nate. "What is all this stuff?"

"I was running out of room in my lab." He admitted. "When we were given this site, I thought…it might be worth doing a bit of spring cleaning."

"You were building a robot?" Zoey asked him. Nate just looked to her a little sheepishly.

"It's…an old project. I started it when I was nine." He said rather bashfully as he saw them both looking at him. "It was...it was meant to be a big brother for me."

"What?" Ravi asked. Nate just took the head from him and put it on the shelf.

"I just…always wanted a brother." He told them.

"Aw, that's kind of sweet." Zoey said sympathetically. Nate's toes curled inside his shoes. Great, did she really need to hear that? Now he had to sound completely pathetic to her. He was a kid, only 9, and his parents were constantly away on business, spreading the word of Morph-X across the globe. None of the kids his age were able to understand much of what he said, most of the adults didn't either! He spent almost all his time on military bases. The idea of making his own friend made perfect sense to a kid, but to an adult, it had to sound pretty sad. "Did you have a name for him?"

"Can we just work on this please?" He asked them. "It looks like most of the circuits get fried when the Gigadrones and Robotrons explode."

"Like we couldn't have figured that out." Ravi chuckled, looking to a piece of the Cyclotron's shin.

"No, it's more than that, it's…I think it's a failsafe designed to prevent exactly what we're doing." Nate replied. "I can only get minimal information from what I'm seeing here. I can't even really tell what the origin of these robots is."

"So, what do you need?" Ravi asked.

"I need a sample, something intact." He told them. "Other than that, it'll take years for me to reverse-engineer, possibly longer."

"An intact Gigadrone or Robotron." Zoey sighed. "That's going to be tough."

"Yeah, but we're tougher." Ravi answered. "We'll figure out a way Nate."

Over at the burger joint, Mayor Daniels brought over a tray and sat down with Devon as he watched some police in the parking lot, by a cordoned off area. His dad started handing out the food.

"This place was amazing; it's been here almost as long as Sudsy's. I remember when it opened." Mayor Daniels said as he started to arrange his food on his tray. "Me and the guys must have come here about three times a week. The burgers are good, but absolutely the best apple pie in the city by a country mile!"

"What's going on out there?" Devon asked him. Mayor Daniels just looked out.

"I don't know." He replied with a quizzical look on his face. "It's a real shame though. This was such a nice neighbourhood. I'd hate to think any bad elements were starting to come in."

Devon just started eating. As soon as he bit into his burger, his eyebrows shot up. He looked to his dad in disbelief.

"I know, right?" He asked. "Your dad knows his burgers."

"You really do." Devon said with a little laugh. "Shame you're not so good with tacos though."

"You are not going to let me forget that are you?" Mayor Daniels laughed.

"Dad, we were both in the bathroom for two days! If I wasn't firing from one end it was the other!" Devon laughed in response. Mayor Daniels looked to his son.

"It's been far too long since we did something like this." Mayor Daniels said as he looked to his food. Just then, Devon looked up.

"What?" Mayor Daniels asked. "What is it?"

"Know that bad element you were talking about?" He asked, pointing to some men heading through the parking lot. The fact they were carrying crowbars and baseball bats gave the impression they were up to no good.

"I'll call the police." Mayor Daniels said as Devon got up and ran out. "Devon, where are you going? DEVON!"

Devon followed the men, wanting to see what they were up to. He didn't like leaving his dad behind, but he didn't want to let them run around unchecked if he could help it.

He followed them, recognising the route. They seemed to be heading towards Sudsy's. He dialled his phone, trying to raise him, but it went straight to voicemail.

"It's closed." He said to himself. "No one should be there, that's one thing at least."

He rounded a corner, heading into the street, only to find all six of the men lying on the ground unconscious. There was a dark figure standing over them.

"What the hell?" Devon asked, before the figure looked up. For the briefest of moments, he could see him in a street light. "Blaze?"

With that, Blaze teleported away, leaving Devon with some unconscious thugs, and a lot of questions.


	38. Promises And Commitments

Devon was in Commander Shaw's Command Centre early the next morning. He'd contacted everyone to ask them to assemble. It had been a slightly awkward conversation when she reminded him that they were meant to meet for a morning briefing each day anyway, but once she told him when to be there, he'd pleaded with her to change the time. He needed to show up at Sudsy's for his shift, and he wasn't going to get reamed out twice in as many days if he could help it.

He explained what had happened, told them about seeing the men heading towards Sudsy's, and the fact that afterwards, he had seen them all beaten into unconsciousness.

"Blaze did what?" Zoey asked as she tried to comprehend what Devon had told her. Devon just gestured wildly.

"I know, right? It's crazy!" Devon declared.

"What reason would he have to show up anywhere near there, never mind do something to help?" Ravi asked as he thought about what he had heard. "I mean, Blaze was never known for being a particularly helpful guy even before all this started."

"I think this all might be connected somehow to what I was telling you before." Devon said as he saw them looking at him. "Before I started my shift yesterday, I saw a couple of suits at the car wash. I didn't think much about it at the time but I overheard some of what they said. They worked for Blaze's dad. They were trying to buy Sudsy out, but he was having none of it."

"I don't follow." Commander Shaw said, looking at him quizzically. Devon just looked at her a little incredulously.

"Seriously? You don't?" Devon asked her. "Sudsy tells him where to stick his offer and that very night some guys look to redecorate his business with crowbars?"

"That's a very serious accusation to make!" Commander Shaw pointed out to him. "If you're going to make insinuations like that public, you'd better have something a lot stronger than some hearsay circumstantial evidence."

"Hearsay?" Devon called out. "I heard the conversation myself!"

"But there's no way to say that those guys had anything to do with Winchester for sure." Zoey told him. "Winchester has some pretty aggressive business practices. There was one store near my old neighbourhood that wouldn't sell to him when he was expanding one of his factories…he opened three stores right on the same street and charged half what he did. Mr Zubeskis had to sell up because he was going out of business."

"But that's a pretty far cry from sending in a mob." Ravi pointed out.

"Look, guys, I'm not talking about proving all this in a court, I'm just saying it's a coincidence we should really look into." Devon stated emphatically. "If it connects to Blaze's dad that's another time, he's showed up in his dad's business…"

"OK, we get it. You think this is all connected." Ravi conceded. "But even if that's the case, let's just say for argument's sake those guys were working for Blaze's dad…why would Blaze stop them?"

"It's a good question." Nate said with a shrug. "Blaze is a trust-fund baby. He's going to inherit everything. Why would he do anything that would stop his dad earning more money."

"I…I don't know." Devon stammered. "Not everything's about money."

"It is when your name's Winchester." Zoey sighed. Devon checked his watch.

"Shoot, I'm going to be late." He rushed out. "Look, I'm just saying…maybe you can look into it or something?"

"Devon, before you go…I'd like to speak to you." Commander Shaw said as the others left. Devon stayed behind, fidgeting nervously. He was already sure that even if he got a good run at traffic, he was likely to be late. Commander Shaw stood before him. "Devon, I need to speak to you about this job."

"Commander, I really need to…"

"Devon, your first duty is to be here, to be with the team." Commander Shaw reminded him.

"I'll be there if you call me!" Devon protested.

"I really hope so." Commander Shaw responded as she took a seat. "I'm trusting you Devon. You may go."

As Devon ran out of the base, she just sighed and shook her head. She looked to the technician sitting at the Zord station before her.

"Joanne, how are the morning diagnostics looking?" The technician pulled up some data screens.

"The Zords are all fully fuelled up." She answered. "Repairs are currently at 95 percent. They should be back to optimal within an hour."

"Keep me posted." Commander Shaw told her. "I'll be in my office. I have some things I need to think about."

Devon got to the car wash, finding Sudsy standing, looking out, checking his watch. He wasn't optimistic enough to believe that he was expecting a delivery. His suspicion was confirmed when Sudsy trudged towards him purposefully as he parked up Cruise and hung up his helmet and his jacket.

"Sudsy, look, I am REALLY sorry!" Devon said, trying to appease him. "I got caught up in some crazy traffic, and I hit like every red light…"

"Look, kid, you really need to pull it together." Sudsy told him. "I've got plenty of guys here and they all have their own stuff going on. Some of them have families, some of them have school, but when I expect you to start at nine, I mean nine. Not somewhere-around-about-nine but nine."

"I said I'm sorry…"

"Yeah, and that and cab fare will get Janet to her econ class in time." Sudsy said as one of his other workers sprinted out. Devon just pointed to her.

"You only open at seven." Devon commented as he saw her diving into a cab and leaving in a hurry. "She has a shift that's only two hours?"

"She makes it up on breaks and weekends. She works here because I can fit her shifts around her studies." Sudsy told him. "Look, I get it, I was young once, but you need to learn some responsibility. People rely on you. If you blow that off, well…then where does that leave everyone else?"

"Yeah, I get it." Devon sighed. Sudsy pointed to some vans.

"OK, the slaughterhouse delivery guys just arrived." Sudsy told him. "And you need to be thorough. Those vans stink to high heaven if you don't get it all."

Devon took off his communicator and pulled out his cell phone, putting them on a chair as he went over to start working. He opened the back of the first van and recoiled.

"Seriously?" He asked. "Just as well you told me these were slaughterhouse vans or I'd be calling the cops!"

Elsewhere in the city, Blaze appeared with Slicertron near a refinement plant. As soon as they arrived, they were seen and people started to panic. Blaze just had a self-satisfied smirk on his face as the security guards came out to see what the problem was.

"Good morning Gentlemen." Blaze greeted them. "I was wondering if we could bother you for a few hundred gallons of your finest refined Morph…"

One of them pulled a taser and pointed it at Blaze. He just cocked an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" He asked, flicking a thumb over his shoulder. "You DON'T see this thing standing behind me?"

The security guards all looked to each other, before running inside and starting to lock up the doors. A security screen was coming down as Blaze rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, before pointing to the entrance.

"Slicertron, do me a favour and make me another way in will you?" He asked, cracking his knuckles and starting to stretch out in anticipation of a fight. "This is going to be fun."

Over at Grid Battleforce headquarters, Commander Shaw was in her office, checking over something when she got an alert. She looked to her communicator.

"Commander Shaw." Joanne greeted her. "I've got a report from the refinement centre in grid reference bravo six seven. They say some kind of giant saw is slicing its way into their lobby."

"That centre refines several tons of Morph-X a day." She commented. "Contact the Rangers, tell them to get down there."

"I've already sent the message. Zoey and Ravi are on their way." Joanne told her. "I haven't been able to get an answer from Devon yet."

"Keep trying." Commander Shaw told her. With that, she settled back into her chair, turning around to look out of her window over the city.

Ravi and Zoey pulled up outside the refinement centre, finding the security screen sliced in nice, clean, straight lines creating a large entry way. They both ran inside, finding Blaze in the lobby, having some fun with some of the security guards. He wasn't even really trying all that hard, they were clearly no match for him, and if anything, he looked like he was just toying with them for his own amusement. He dumped the last of them on the floor as he saw them arriving.

"Just yellow and blue, huh?" He asked. "Aren't you a little understaffed today?"

"It's still more than enough to deal with you!" Ravi called out. Slicertron stepped into view, before firing a couple of saw blades their way. Ravi and Zoey had to dive for cover under the attack. One came so close that Zoey had to quickly put a hand on her head to make sure it had actually missed. She was relieved when she found no blood.

"That thing almost gave me a permanent centre parting." Zoey commented. "Where's Devon?"

"I'm sure he's on his way." Ravi told her. "Let's do this!"

They both strode out into the lobby, their Morph-X keys in their hands.

Back at the car wash, Devon was just finishing one of the slaughterhouse vans. They were a big job, the nature of the business meant they very quickly needed a lot of deep cleaning. He was putting back the hose when he heard his communicator bleeping. He checked it, seeing that he had several missed alerts.

"Oh shit!" He called out as he started to gather his stuff. He looked around frantically, seeing Sudsy inspecting some cars before collection. "Sorry Sudsy! I need to go!" Devon called out to him. Before Sudsy could even answer, Devon was pulling away, gunning his engine as he headed for the coordinates locked into Cruise's central processor. Sudsy could only shake his head in disbelief and head for the cleaning equipment. There was still work to be done, and someone had to do it.

Back at the site of the battle, Ravi and Zoey flew out of the refinement centre, tumbling away to a safe distance as Blaze and Slicertron followed them out. Ravi looked to a rather pathetic-looking piece of scrap in his hand that used to be a blaster.

"Nate is not going to be happy about this." He commented as he hit the command, teleporting it back to the base for repairs and exchanging it for his sabre. He ran for Blaze, who summoned his own sword, beginning to attack him. Zoey headed for the Slicertron, dodging its blades as she closed in.

"You think you're the only one that can slice and…" She started to say, but he dipped his head before she could land the blow. His head was covered in a couple of contra-rotating blades. Before she could pull the attack, her sword was seized, pulled in and in a shower of sparks, pieces of it were thrown in all directions. Zoey just stared at the hilt left in her hand.

"At least it wasn't my arm!" She commented. She leapt away as Slicertron came for her, landing dozens of feet away. Whatever she was going to do, it was pretty clear she needed a new strategy if she was going to keep all her limbs.

Ravi swung for Blaze wildly, powering up his strikes. Blaze could see the energy coming off him and knew he must have activated his power. He ducked several of his blows, moving so quickly he turned into a blur. He finally managed to catch Ravi with an upward strike, sending him flying. He started laughing as Ravi hit the ground, steam coming from his costume.

"A little hot under the collar?" Blaze taunted him. Ravi knew he was right. He needed to be careful, he was starting to overheat. He could already feel his rage starting to overtake him. The last thing they needed was for him to lose control again. "Step for a hint. Strength only matters if you can actually hit your target. Give me speed over power any day."

"Couldn't have said it better!" Devon called out. Blaze turned in time to see the red streak coming towards him. He took the hit, staggering a few paces, before confronting the Red Ranger. Slicertron came to his side to join him, but Blaze just held up a hand.

"You know what? I'm kind of bored now. There's much better targets out there." Blaze commented. "See you around."

With that, they disappeared. Devon de-morphed, turning towards Ravi and Zoey as they got back to the truck. Zoey was rummaging through her bag, looking for some snacks, while Ravi was sitting in the driver's seat, the a/c turned up full blast to cool down. Devon approached them.

"Guys, are you OK?" He asked them.

"Yeah, just about." Ravi answered. "You were cutting it pretty close back there."

"Devon, I don't think this is going to work. You're going to have to quit that job." Zoey said through a mouthful of food, gulping it down. "We got lucky this time."

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I can't." Devon told them regretfully.

"Why not? It's not like you wanted a job in the first place." Ravi reminded him.

"Besides, you have a job." Zoey added.

"Not as far as my dad knows." Devon pointed out as he sat on Cruise, his shoulders slumped. He had heard all the talks about responsibility. From his teachers, from his dad, from Commander Shaw…now he was hearing it from his friends. It wasn't that he didn't understand responsibility, he appreciated how much it impacted others when someone promised to do something and then didn't come through. It was more than just disappointment, sometimes there were also real consequences when someone didn't keep a promise. In this case, his friends nearly paid a very steep price for the fact Devon wasn't able to respond as quickly as he should have because he had made a promise to Sudsy. "You guys don't get it. When I was with my dad last night, we went for dinner and we just…we just talked. No screaming, no snide remarks, we just…talked. Do you know how long it's been since we did that? I've been nothing but a disappointment to my dad for a long time, but last night, he was just happy with me, and I don't want to lose that."

Zoey and Ravi just looked to each other. They knew that Devon's situation was very different from theirs. They both lived and worked on the base. The people they dealt with most directly already knew what their priorities were and understood why they needed to drop everything and leave. They wanted Devon to be happy, and they were pleased to hear that he and his dad were getting along.

Devon's phone rang, at which he answered it. He had to quickly pull the phone away from his ear because of the volume of the voice on the other end. Ravi and Zoey could hear it and they were a couple of feet away from him.

"Sudsy…yeah…how many?" He asked. "Yeah, I can stay late. I'm sorry…"

With that, he put his phone away. He stood and stared at them for a moment, like he was trying to think how best to say it, but he couldn't find the words. There were only so many ways that someone could say sorry. He instead got on Cruise and sped away, leaving Ravi and Zoey behind.

Commander Shaw was in her office, studying some papers when there was a knock on the door. She looked up to see Joanne standing in the doorway.

"Make yourself comfortable." Commander Shaw told her. Joanne came in and took a seat, lowering herself slowly into the chair with a pained expression on her face. "How did the battle go?"

"Blaze and the Robotron fled." Joanne told her, handing her a tablet to show her the footage. "They didn't get any Morph-X, so on analysis…"

"It's a success." Commander Shaw said as she looked at the footage. On the surface of it, as an analysis, it did sound like a successful deployment. More successful than any of their others. The Rangers had driven off Blaze and the Slicertron and didn't lose even a drop of Morph-X in the process. However, it wasn't enough to reduce a battle to a simple cost/benefit analysis. She wanted to know the full details. "When did Devon respond to the call?"

"Commander Shaw…"

"Joanne, when did he respond?" She asked.

"He answered the ninth call." Joanne informed her. Commander Shaw just handed her back the tablet.

"Thank you." She answered. "That will be all."

As Joanne started to get up, Commander Shaw saw the pained expression on her face.

"Joanne, is everything alright?" She asked.

"It's fine." Joanne assured her. "Believe me, it's been worse."

"If you need any help…"

"It's fine." Joanne assured her. "Believe me, Commander Shaw, you've done more for me than I could ever have hoped for."

"Just let me know if anything changes." Commander Shaw told her.

"I will." Joanne assured her, before heading back to her station. Commander Shaw turned back to her own research; some police reports that had been filed over the last couple of days. Although Grid Battleforce wasn't really a law enforcement agency, she did have some connections. She just continued to examine them closely, wondering how she was going to deal with Devon.

Back at the car wash, Devon was slogging his way through the backlog of cars. He'd agreed to stay late so that he could make up for the work he had missed, but it was still pretty clear that Sudsy and the others weren't happy. A lot of the others were giving him a wide berth, and it looked like Sudsy didn't have to do much to encourage it. He came over to him once he was finishing up with a taxi, sending it on its way. He was carrying coffee, which gave Devon a little hope that he was giving a peace offering.

"Thanks." Devon said as he took the coffee. "I promise, I'll finish all this up by tonight."

"Well, you better. Because you already cost me a couple of jobs." Sudsy told him. Devon just looked at him confused.

"I did?" Devon asked him.

"Yeah, because you ran out, I had to do the slaughterhouse vans." Sudsy told him. "Because I was doing that, I had to turn away a couple of drive-ins."

"I'm sorry…"

"You know, I keep hearing you say that, but it doesn't make it alright. Customers don't wait until its convenient for you to do the work, you're meant to be there for them." Sudsy told him flatly. "If you're gonna work here, you need to be here. Otherwise, you're gone."

"Alright, message received." Devon answered sheepishly. "Thanks for the coffee."

"You're welcome." Sudsy said as he walked away. Devon was about to head back to work when he saw Ravi and Zoey arriving.

"Need a hand?" Ravi asked with a smile as he hung up his jacket.

"It's OK guys, you don't need to help out." Devon assured them.

"We don't want you to lose your job." Zoey assured him. "We might not be happy about the way things went down earlier, but we can see how much this means to you and your dad."

"Besides, we're a team." Ravi added. "Many hands make light work, right?"

"We'll be done with this in no time." Zoey agreed as they put their communicators and phones on a chair with Devon's and grabbed some cleaning supplies.

"Thanks guys." Devon said gratefully. "I promise I'll make this up to you."

Over in the Cyber Dimension, Blaze and Slicertron were in Scrozzle's workshop. Blaze had been impressed by how well the Slicertron had performed, and he wanted to make the best of it. Scrozzle was working on an upgrade.

"Are you nearly finished?" Blaze asked him.

"You think fashioning diamond tipped saws is easy?" Scrozzle asked him. "Now the motors have been increased drastically in power. Now with this last blade and…there. Now you should be able to slice right into a Morph-X tower."

"Good." Blaze said with a smile. "I'm sick of small-time scores. We hit a tower; we'll be able to float a battle-ship in Morph-X."

"Presuming you get past security." Scrozzle pointed out. Blaze just sneered.

"Those jokers? Like that's a challenge." He replied arrogantly. "For what they get paid, no way they're risking their necks once they see him."

"And I think I might be able to help you get a little window of opportunity." Roxy said, causing them both to do a double-take. She hadn't been seen since her last fight against Zoey.

"So, you are still around." Blaze commented. She just smiled sweetly.

"Yes, I just like to think about things before I start swinging like a demented Go-Go dancer." She told him as she went to Scrozzle's computer. "I was just checking a live feed and look what I saw that was quite interesting."

"So, the Rangers are washing cars." Blaze answered with a shrug. "So?"

"Look over there." Roxy pointed out, zooming in. "Their communicators are unguarded."

She gestured to Slicertron.

"You take the overgrown can opener and find a Morph-X tower a few blocks away." She told him. "I'll make sure no one will be calling for help."


	39. Balancing Promises

Roxy teleported in, a little way from the car wash. She had a quick look around to make sure she wasn't seen, before starting to make her way in.

She crept in, keeping nice and low. She could see the Rangers working on a car, dancing away to the music as they worked their way through Devon's backlog. Even Ravi was starting to get into it a little. She smiled a little to see it. He always liked to play so stiff and rigid, but there was a part of him not too many people got to see. He loved music, something he picked up from his grandfather, one of the few Shaws who hadn't ended up in the military. When it was just them, when they were listening to her playlists during their time together, she could see him beginning to tap his feet, move his shoulders…on occasion they even danced. He actually had pretty good rhythm too. But of course, in the end, he was always more about appearances and his duty.

She got her mind back on the task in hand, heading towards the chair with their communicators and cell phones on it. She silently picked them up, making sure she wasn't seen. She needn't have worried; they were much too busy messing around as they did their job. Right now, Devon was taking pot-shots at Ravi with the hose while Ravi flicked soapy water from a sponge at him. She slipped away, putting them all down on the ground. She summoned up one of her blasters, and using the bayonet, repeatedly stabbed them all, quickly smashing them into pieces.

She brought up her own communicator and activated it.

"Alright Blaze, their service has been disconnected." She informed him. "You're good to go."

With that, she took one last look at the Rangers, before teleporting out.

Over at the Command Centre, Joanne was at her console, checking on the Zord diagnostics, making sure that they were ready for action.

"Smash, how's the wheeler Zord feeling?" She asked. One advantage with Nate's system was that the Beast Bots directly interfaced with the Zords. It meant they quite literally had someone on the inside that could find far more minor faults than any external repair team could ever find second-hand. It was kind of like the difference between asking a mechanic that could only look over a machine what was wrong, which relied on them being able to see or hear something that was out of the ordinary, and a doctor who could simply ask a patient what their symptoms were.

Indeed, it was actually easier than with a patient because instead of just being able to tell them what hurt, they could start to direct them to what exactly was causing the issues.

"It feels all good here." He told her. "Systems are operating at 98.3 percent."

"That's good, but we can do better can't we?" She asked with a smile. "Let's see if we can install that update to the weapons systems and go from there."

"Joanne, is this a good time?" Nate asked her. Joanne just turned and looked at him.

"Nate, what are you doing here?" She asked him.

"You've missed our last couple of appointments. You were due for a check-up months ago." Nate reminded her. "Commander Shaw called to say it looked like you were experiencing some pain…"

"It's fine." Joanne told him.

"Yes, but there's a difference between fine and good." Nate reminded her.

"Nate, I've got work to do." She said dismissively.

"Joanne…I've just heard you tell Smash that you want to do more work when the Wheeler Zord is at 98.3 percent." He reminded her. "Why would you think it's acceptable to treat yourself any differently?"

Just then, an alarm sounded. Joanne checked the scanner.

"There's an alert at the Morph-X Tower in sector Bravo 93." She called out as she pulled up the footage. "They're under attack!"

"An attack on a tower in broad daylight? That's pretty brazen, even for Blaze." Nate commented.

"I'm calling the Rangers." Joanne told him, hitting the alert. "Something's wrong."

"Are you sure?" Nate asked, getting on the console next to her and trying to activate their communicators. "There's something wrong, the communicators are off-line. I'm going to try and remotely turn them on."

He worked on his computer for a bit, but he just got an error message.

"It's not working. There's something stopping the communicators from activating!" Nate called out.

"They're slicing into the tower. They're already starting to take the Morph-X." She told him.

"Keep trying the Rangers, I need to save as much of the Morph-X as I can." Nate responded as he grabbed a seat and started working frantically on a computer. "Alert Commander Shaw, tell her what's going on."

"Still no luck with the communicators." Joanne said to him. "I'll keep trying, but now I'm trying their cell phones too."

Commander Shaw walked into the room, finding them working frantically.

"I just got your signal. What's going on?" She asked.

"Blaze is attacking a Morph-X tower. He's draining it as we speak." Joanne told her. "I'm trying to raise the Rangers but it's not working."

"He's attacking a tower directly?" She asked, thinking much the same as the others. Blaze and Roxy had attacked other targets before, but they'd always gone for much softer, less well-defended targets. A Morph-X tower would naturally have a lot of Morph-X, but for the same reason they were also some of the most heavily fortified buildings in the city.

"I've activated an emergency pipeline. I'm draining Morph-X to the nearby towers." He told her. "The tower is emptying."

"How long will it take?" She asked.

"The tower should be completely drained in the next thirty seconds." Nate told her, checking the levels. Although the Morph-X towers stored plenty of Morph-X, they were very rarely ever at capacity. A fail-safe was put in place in case any tower ever became compromised that would safely drain them into spare storage space in neighbouring towers. The intent was to be able to safely remove Morph-X in case of an emergency such as a fire or other emergency. Nate had activated the system in order to drain it so that he could limit how much Blaze could take. "It's done. We've managed to save approximately seventy percent of the yield."

"How much did Blaze get?" She asked. Nate did some calculations.

"Approximately 300 tons." He replied as he backed away from the computer. That was a disaster. They'd saved most of the Morph-X, but it was still the largest single raid by a long margin. Until now they had only managed to steal a dozen or so barrels at a time. Now they had 300 tons. It didn't bear thinking about what they could do with that kind of power. Commander Shaw just sighed.

"I want a full report of injuries, damages and losses sent to me within the hour." She told them. "I'm going to go find the Rangers."

With that, she gestured to some security personnel to follow her as she strode out of the room.

Back at the car wash, the Rangers were finally finishing up with their task. Devon was incredibly grateful for their help. If he'd been working by himself, he'd probably have been there until well after dark.

"Well, looks like we're all done!" He declared as he offered his fist for a fist-bump. Both Zoey and Ravi put their hands in, but pulled them away again, performing something of an elaborate handshake. "Uh…what was that?"

"It's our handshake." Zoey told him.

"You guys have a handshake?" He asked in response.

"It's a thing we kind of came up with in training." Ravi told him. He and Zoey just did it again to demonstrate.

"So, it's like this?" He asked as he attempted it. He already knew that Ravi and Zoey had known each other longer than they had known him, and that the fact he wasn't on the base as often as them meant he did miss out on some things. He didn't like the fact that he had let Sudsy or his friends down. More and more he was starting to think that 'growing up' as people put it just meant making more and more promises and commitments. Though he couldn't quite figure out how people were able to juggle them all. It kind of felt like whenever he made one promise, it just made it harder to keep another and more and more he was just letting everyone down.

They all looked up as some Grid Battleforce transports rolled into the car wash. Commander Shaw and some security guards stepped out of the vehicle. The expression on Commander Shaw's face let them know that she was far from happy about something.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Ravi asked her.

"I was going to ask you the same question!" She said sharply, seeing the Rangers standing before her, looking like they had absolutely no idea what had happened. It was bad enough to miss out on a battle, it was quite another to not even know that they were needed. "Blaze and that Robotron sliced into a Morph-X tower. Fortunately, Nate managed to start draining it and they only got 300 tons."

"300…tons?" Zoey asked, wincing at the very sound of it as she said it. Morph-X was powerful, extremely efficient. Even a small amount, like a vial the size of a soda can could power a whole city. The thought of what anyone could do with TONS of it was something Zoey didn't even want to imagine.

"Yes, tons!" Commander Shaw snapped at them.

"Wait, 300 tons? Why didn't you call us?" Devon asked her. He regretted it almost instantly as Commander Shaw glared at him in a way that let him know she was starting to get to that scary lock-you-in-a-dark-room-until-death kind of mood.

"We tried! Your communicators AND your phones are all off-line!" She informed them.

"No, they're right over…" Devon was starting to say, before he saw the chair only had his and Ravi's jackets on it. They all ran over and started searching.

"What's going on? They were right here!" Devon said, before Zoey looked around a corner.

"Guys." She sighed as she gestured them over. They both came over, looking at a bunch of smashed pieces on the ground. Zoey picked up a piece of yellow plastic that had at one time been her phone, before letting it drop. "It looks like we had a visitor."

"Check this out." Ravi said, picking up one piece of metal that had damage consistent with being stabbed by a blade. It wasn't like anyone could claim someone just dropped them or run over them or something. "This was done on purpose."

"I think I can guess who." Zoey said, her hand straying to her shoulder as she saw the shape of the mark. It wasn't so long ago a blade that matched the one used on their phones and communicators was used on her. "Roxy."

"So, they took out our communicators so we couldn't be contacted." Devon surmised. "Damn it."

Just then, Commander Shaw's communicator sounded.

"Joanne?" She asked.

"Blaze and the Robotron have been spotted on city surveillance." She informed the Commander. "They're heading for the Morph-X tower in sector Kilo 15."

"Heard and understood." Commander Shaw responded. "Have Nate transport new comms to the Rangers. They're on their way."

Ravi and Zoey both headed to one of the transports, which the driver vacated for them. Devon just looked to her apologetically.

"Just a second, I've got to tell my boss I'm going." Devon replied, before heading to the office. Sudsy was there working on the day's figures when he got there. Thanks to his friends' help, he'd finished the backlog early, but he still technically had time left on his shift. He made his way to the desk sheepishly as he realised that once again, he was going to be running out on him.

"Sorry Sudsy, but it's…"

"It's an emergency. Yeah, right!" He responded. "Look kid, I've known your dad a long time, but that doesn't give you licence to just come and go whenever you damn well like."

"I know, I never said it did…" Devon started to protest.

"I don't care if you are Adam's son. You leave again, and you're fired." Sudsy told him flatly. "There are other people that need the work and I need people I can depend on. I don't ask for much, just a fair day's work for a fair day's pay."

Devon hated this. He knew that Sudsy had a point. He was innocent in all of this. Realistically, all he knew was he had one employee that kept running off on him and shirking his responsibilities. There was a time he was part of a guild in an MMORPG that had a member who kept turning up when he wanted them to help him raid a dungeon for something for his character, but would often disappear whenever anyone else was looking for loot or duck out in the middle of a quest because it didn't suit him. Devon had been one of the ones that voted to have the guy kicked out of the party because they couldn't rely on him. If he was in Sudsy's position, he had to imagine that's what he was thinking.

He had enjoyed the fact he had been getting on with his dad. He had wanted to keep the job because it was a nice change to see his dad being proud of him. However, when all was said and done, he knew what his responsibilities were. If he abandoned the Rangers, abandoned the city, people could die. If he abandoned Sudsy, he could get someone that wanted the job for the right reasons and would actually do right by him. He just sighed.

"I'm sorry." Devon told him, walking away. "You do what you've got to do."

"Your father will hear of this!" Sudsy yelled after him. Devon just grabbed his jacket and helmet, mounting Cruise and riding off, following the others towards Blaze's position. He had no doubt Sudsy would call his dad, and he didn't doubt for a moment his dad would be only too quick to let him know how disappointed he was that it only took him two days to get fired from his first job. He had no doubts in his mind that he was doing the right thing. It just kind of sucked that his choices meant that he and Sudsy were the ones to pay the price.

Mayor Daniels was on an X-Bike, riding between meetings with his aide a little way behind him. He heard his phone ringing and gestured to her to pull into the side. He got off the bike and pulled out his phone, looking to the caller ID. He smiled when he saw it was Sudsy.

"Sudsy! Good to hear from you!" He announced cheerfully.

"I wish I could say this was a friendly social call." Sudsy sighed. "Adam, we've been friends a long time, so I thought I owed it to you to tell you myself…your kid ran off again."

"What do you mean he ran off?" Mayor Daniels asked him.

"Look, I gave him a fair shot, but he arrived late, and he's run off a couple of times in shift, he even cost me some business." Sudsy explained to him. "I had to let him go. I'm sorry…"

"No, I'm sorry." He sighed. "Devon let you down. I appreciate the call to tell me."

As he hung up the phone, the street shook and he heard people screaming. There were some blasts from nearby. He watched as the Rangers, Blaze and Slicertron spilled into their street in the middle of a heated battle.

"Mr Mayor!" His aide yelled, waving to him wildly as she took cover. Mayor Daniels went with her to hide, where he could keep an eye on the battle. The Red Ranger was fighting with Blaze, keeping him away while the Yellow and Blue Rangers dealt with Slicertron. The monster forced them both to retreat with some flying blades coming at them. Some of them imbedded themselves in nearby concrete, leaving little doubt that the Rangers were in serious trouble if any of them hit.

There was a scream as a little girl saw one of the blades coming her way. Mayor Daniels flinched, certain he was about to witness a tragedy, but after a flash of red light and a rush of air, he opened his eyes to find the Red Ranger standing next to him, cradling the girl in his arms.

"Da…uh…Mayor Daniels!" Devon stammered, realising who he was. "Can you take care of this girl?"

"Of course, anything to help!" Mayor Daniels replied. Devon just looked to him for a long moment, wishing that this moment could last. However, he turned back to the battle, racing back towards Blaze, only to be launched into the wall. Blaze activated his own speed boost, driving him into the wall with enough force to send concrete flying and levelling his sword at his throat. Devon grabbed onto the blade, struggling to push back against it.

"Now, this all looks familiar doesn't it?" Blaze asked him. "Tell me, when are you going to get it through your thick skull you can't beat me?"

"When are YOU going to get it through your skull…I don't have to!" Devon replied, nodding behind him. Blaze just turned in time to watch Zoey and Ravi aiming their Beast-X Cannons at Slicertron. He could only watch as they opened fire, completely destroying him. Blaze looked back to Devon. "I wasn't here to beat you…just keep you clear while we took out the can opener. No can opener, no beans."

Blaze threw Devon clear, where he rolled back to his feet, joining his friends a little way from him. Blaze looked at the odds before him, and realised that now the battle was pointless. Without Slicertron, he couldn't get into the Morph-X tower.

"This isn't working…we've got to think bigger!" He declared, grabbing his Morph-X key. "See ya!"

With that, he teleported out again. The Rangers all breathed a sigh of relief.

"OK, we're down one Robotron, but that doesn't mean we're out of the woods." Devon reminded them. Just then, a portal opened up a little way from them and a Gigadrone dropped out of the sky. Devon looked to the others.

"You had to say it didn't you?" Zoey asked him.

"I'll head him off. You two catch up." Devon told them, leaping onto Cruise as he summoned his Racer Zord. Ravi and Zoey got onto their communicators.

"Smash, you feeling up for a rumble?" Ravi asked him.

"Thanks to Joanne, the Wheeler Zord at 99.8 percent and feeling ready to SMASH!" Smash assured him.

"Hop to it Jax!" Zoey told him. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Just keep an eye on the skies!" Jax answered. "I'm coming in hot!"


	40. Always a Price to Pay

Devon raced towards the Morph-X tower, skidding down a main road. He looked up, seeing a new Gigadrone, fitted with a gigantic saw much like the Robotron they had just defeated, heading for the tower.

"He's going for the tower." Devon stated. "We don't have long."

"The Racer Zord is right behind us." Cruise told him. Devon cast a quick glance over his shoulder to confirm where it was, before reversing up the ramp inside. Within moments, he and Cruise were interfaced into the cockpit.

"Devon, I've gotten reports from the tower. The Gigadrone is already beginning to cut into it." Commander Shaw informed him.

"I'm almost there." Devon assured her. "Cruise, battle mode, now!"

Devon's Zord changed form, turning into its robot form, its sword drawn. He started punching in some commands.

"No time to be subtle. We need to get that thing away from the tower." Devon said as his Zord leapt to the attack. "Get away from that tower you hunk of junk!"

As he lunged for it though, the Gigadrone turned towards him and an energy shield raised. He'd played more than enough games to know that was rarely a good sign, but he was already committed to the attack. His Zord was repulsed from the Gigadrone and staggered backwards into a skyscraper where it barely remained upright.

"Devon, are you alright?" Cruise asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine but…what's going on with the systems?" He asked as he started fiddling with the controls, getting no response.

"The shield caused a feedback which crashed the system." Cruise informed him. "We need to reboot the system."

"How long will that take?" Devon asked him in response.

"Too long I'm afraid." Cruise answered. "The Gigadrone will be through to the Morph-X by then."

"Need a hand?" Ravi asked as the Wheeler Zord and Flyer came into view. The Gigadrone put up its shields again, and while it did defend against the missiles and blasts being fired at it, there was no feedback.

"Perfect timing guys." Devon replied. "Just keep him away from the tower for a few more minutes while I reboot."

He could only watch while Zoey and Ravi attacked, keeping their distance so that their own Zords wouldn't suffer the same fate as his. It seemed like the feedback only occurred at close range. He watched on, seeing that the shield would falter at times, letting a few blasts through. The shield wasn't indestructible, but he couldn't risk a full-on close-range attack or he could risk another feedback. That was when he thought of an idea.

"Cruise, run a scan of that Gigadrone, I want to know what makes him tick." Devon told him, before contacting Nate. "Nate, you said you need a Gigadrone intact right? That when they blow up, they're no use to you."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Cruise should be able to send you a schematic." Devon informed him. "I need to know what you can see here that might disable it without triggering the self-destruct that fries the circuits."

"OK…" Nate said as he started to look through it. "Devon, it's not going to matter if we can't get through its shields."

"Let me worry about that." Devon told him. Nate hurriedly looked through the design, pinpointing something.

"This servo right here…if you can manage to punch through and pierce that, it'll be unable to send power to its limbs, but it might not have time to send the data to the central processor." Nate told him. "If you can pierce that with a strong enough attack so fast the Gigadrone doesn't get to trigger its self-destruct, you should disable it."

"Alright, light it up, I want this on targeting." Devon replied as he checked his system. "How's the damage looking Cruise?"

"System rebooted." Cruise informed him.

"Alright, guys, I need you to pour it on, I need an opening on that shield." Devon told them. "Just keep pouring it on, if we weaken it enough, I might be able to punch through."

"What's the play?" Ravi asked.

"You'll know it when you see it." Devon told him. "OK, turn it up!"

Both Ravi and Zoey unleashed everything they had, pouring on fire from every weapon they had at their disposal. Devon's Zord reared back with its sword with both hands, before launching it, sending it spinning through the air, where it hit the shield, punching most of the way through, but getting stuck halfway.

"Devon, was that it?" Ravi asked.

"Not even close!" Devon assured him, breaking into a run and launching himself off the back of Ravi's Zord. As he came down, he summoned up his Cheetah Beast Blaster. "FINAL STRIKE!"

They watched as he drove forward the handle of the sword, driving it straight through the shield and into the Gigadrone. Its saw sliced deeply into the chest of his Zord, but after a moment it stopped. The Gigadrone just stood inert, slumping down like a puppet whose strings had been cut. After a long moment, it became clear his plan had worked. The Gigadrone was inactive, but not destroyed. He'd not only stopped the attack, but had secured Nate the technology he needed.

"That…was way too close." He said as he looked down, seeing the deep gouge in his Zord. "Virus Eliminated."

"I'll hook up some cables and get this thing to the black ops bunker." Zoey told them. "I'll meet you back at base for debrief."

"I'll meet you there too." Devon sighed. "There's something I need to take care of first."

In the Cyber Dimension, Blaze was standing, looking exceedingly cocky as Gigadrones carefully started storing all the Morph-X he had managed to funnel back into the Cyber Dimension. Three hundred tons! Three hundred! There was more than enough there to keep Evox running all but indefinitely, enough to send entire armies after the Rangers. Scrozzle came in, looking a little nervous.

"Are you really sure you need to store so much here?" He asked. "It is rather close to our base."

"You nervous Scrozzle?" Blaze asked him. "Don't worry. If there's something dear old dad actually did teach me, it's to spread out your assets. I don't want all of this in one place any more than you do. Trust me, I really don't want to sit on top of a bomb any more than you do."

"Wow, nice haul! Good job Blaze!" Roxy complimented him as she appeared. Blaze just smirked.

"Might have known you'd show up again after all the work was done." He said as he watched her wander over to some of the Morph-X, inspecting it.

"Some of us work with our brains, but if I need someone punched, I know who to call." She responded. "This is very nice; it looks like we have plenty of fuel to work with. Now just imagine what we could do if we weren't so short-handed."

"Short-handed?" Blaze asked her. "We have tons of Tronics. We can make Robotrons. I don't even know how many Gigadrones Scrozzle has just sitting under our feet."

"Plenty." Scrozzle assured them.

"Yes, well, forgive me if I would like another pair of hands with an IQ in triple figures." She replied. "You know what they say…three is a magic number."

"Another avatar?" Blaze asked her. "What do you have in mind?"

Roxy just gave him a wicked grin.

Later, Mayor Daniels headed into the Riptide Gym. Devon didn't have his phone anymore, and he hadn't swung by a shop to get himself another. The first thing he wanted to do was check on his dad. He'd seen him at the site of the battle and wanted to check that he was alright and arranging to meet.

"Dad!" Devon called out, waving him over. Mayor Daniels started to make his way over. He didn't look happy, which Devon took to mean that Sudsy had probably already called him. As he sat down, Devon looked at the menu. "You want a shake? A smoothie?"

"Maybe later." He said.

"I heard you got caught up in one of the Ranger battles." Devon told him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm in one piece, as you can see." Mayor Daniels responded as he settled into his seat. "I got a call from Sudsy."

"I figured as much." Devon sighed as he put the menu back. "Dad…"

"Two days? How on Earth does anyone get fired after only two days in a job?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "Running off the job? Leaving him in the lurch? Where did you learn that? Because I know I never taught you to shirk your responsibilities."

"Dad, I had to go." Devon told him.

"Really?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "What were you doing that was so important?"

Devon just fell silent. It wasn't as though he could tell him the truth. Mayor Daniels just shook his head.

"That's what I thought." He replied. "Devon, I'm very disappointed in you."

"Devon, there you are." A voice said, causing them both to look around. Devon was a little confused to see Commander Shaw walking over.

"Commander Shaw?" Mayor Daniels asked, recognising her as she arrived by their table.

"Mayor Daniels, it's always a pleasure." Commander Shaw replied, before looking to Devon. "I would have sent word to your house, but my son said he heard you were here and I was in the area, so I thought I'd deliver the good news in person. You got the job. Congratulations."

She extended a hand for a handshake. Devon took her hand and shook it, not knowing what else to do.

"Job?" Mayor Daniels asked. "What job?"

Devon just looked to her. That was what he wanted to know!

"Devon applied for a position on our custodial staff." She said, as coolly and as confidently as she spoke with anyone else. She had spent years dealing with classified information. She was extremely comfortable lying and did so seamlessly. This was the first time he was hearing about a job.

"You applied for a job with Grid Battleforce?" Mayor Daniels asked him.

"Yes, he was most enthusiastic. He said he was impressed by our mission and wanted to help." Commander Shaw told the Mayor as she gave a glance to Devon. "I'm just sorry I wasn't able to be more flexible but…you know what it's like finding good times to interview staff I'm sure."

"Yes, indeed." Mayor Daniels said, looking to Devon. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I…knew you weren't too fond of Grid Battleforce before." Devon said, trying to add something of worth to the story. "I wasn't sure you'd approve."

"Approve? Have you seen what Morph-X is doing for the city?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "Not to mention the Rangers. Devon, if you'd just said something, I'd have understood. Sudsy would have too, I'm sure."

"Which reminds me, we need to take a little trip." Commander Shaw told him, before looking to the mayor. "If you don't mind, of course, I can always wait until…"

"No, no that's fine." Mayor Daniels responded. "I guess I'll see you at home."

"I'll see you later dad." Devon answered as they headed out. He hadn't expected it, but Commander Shaw, it seemed, had saved his skin.

Over at the Black Ops hangar, Zoey came into the base, de-morphing as she did so, having landed her Zord in the bay and come to check on Nate. She found him staring at the Zord, full of wonder and amazement. He didn't even see her as she entered.

She stood, watching him scurrying around its feet, muttering to himself and inspecting it. He looked like a kid with a toy…a fifty-storey toy, but a toy nonetheless. He was no doubt already coming up with a million and one ideas how to use it to figure out new weapons and strategies. She leaned against the door frame and just watched him. He was simply amazing to her. Focused, smart, adorable…adorable? Where did that come from?

He let out a little squeal of excitement, taking down some notes as he saw something. OK, it was pretty adorable. She suddenly started to feel warm again. Why was it so hot in here? Did the base even have heating?

"Oh, Zoey, hi!" He greeted her, gulping as he realised, she had seen him. Did she notice him squealing? Please say she hadn't seen that! What would she think of him if she saw that? "Um…I was just…looking at this Gigadrone! It's almost completely intact!"

"Yeah, Devon's plan really came through for us." Zoey replied, coming over next to him.

"It's amazing, I've already learned so much and I've barely even started more than a cursory examination." Nate told her. "I mean…check this out, you see these circuits?"

"These ones?" She asked, moving right next to him, looking at his tablet as he showed it to her.

"Exactly, it's really advanced and very unique." Nate told her. "The last time I saw anything like this was when I was studying Doctor Cranston's work on the Machine Empire weaponry!"

"Wait…the Machine Empire? The forces of King Mondo that the Zeo Rangers defeated back in the late nineties?" She shrieked excitedly, looking at it. Nate turned to look at her. She noticed him looking and started to become a little self-conscious. She'd completely nerded out in front of him. "Uh…I'm…I've…been studying since…"

She then looked at how close they were standing, and felt something. His hand…she was touching his hand! They both backed away from each other.

"Yeah, that's right." Nate stammered nervously. "It shows a lot of similarities to that technology."

They both stood silently for a moment.

"I should really be getting back to the base." Zoey told him. "Um…you want a ride?"

"No, I've got a date with some data." He said, cringing when he said it. Why did he have to say things like that?

"Well…have fun." She replied. She turned and scurried out of the lab before she could embarrass herself any further. Nate watched her go, before slumping down into a chair.

"What am I thinking?" He muttered, before looking to his tablet and starting it recording. "Alright, beginning analysis, approximately seven thirty PM on February12th…."

His words tailed off as something occurred to him. A smile crossed is face.

"February 12th!" He said as he opened up an internet search.

A little while later, Zoey arrived back at the base, finding Devon, Ravi, Ben, Betty, Joanne and Commander Shaw waiting for us. She took her place in line, standing at ease.

"Rangers, you did some good work today." Commander Shaw began. She always believed in at least starting off on a positive note. "Today could have been a lot worse than it was. You all came together and you fought admirably."

"Devon really did great taking down that Gigadrone without destroying it." Zoey added. "Nate's studying it now. He thinks he's going to get a lot of useful data from it."

"Unfortunately, it was not without cost." Commander Shaw pointed out. Devon stepped forward.

"That's…that's on me." He admitted, before turning to the others. "I'm sorry guys, I know I let you down. I was so worried about making my dad happy I wasn't there when you needed me."

"Devon…"

"No, it's fine." Devon stopped Zoey as he continued. "The thing is, in trying to make everyone happy, I ended up making no one happy. I left Sudsy in the lurch, I disappointed my dad when I got fired, and because you guys were helping me, our communicators got trashed and Blaze got away with a ton of Morph-X."

"300 actually." Joanne corrected him. Everyone just stared at her. "What? It was!"

"Thing is, I should have been here and I wasn't. But…thanks to the Commander, I think I might have found a way to make it up to everyone." Devon explained. "Everyone, say hello to Grid Battleforce's newest janitor."

"Janitor?" Zoey asked. "You got a job as a janitor?"

"Now dad's happy that I'm all responsible and have a job now." Devon explained with a smile. "And now I can spend all day on the base and no one will think anything of it."

"Not to mention we managed to make things right with Sudsy for the inconvenience of losing his most recent employee." Commander Shaw added as they looked to her. "I signed a contract with him to clean all our transports on a monthly rotation."

"I just know he'll be happy with all that extra business." Ravi agreed. "There are dozens of vehicles down there. That contract's got to be worth a pretty penny to him."

"Not to mention I wasn't exactly the model employee." Devon admitted. "Something tells me that in the grand scheme of things, he's going to prefer the deal he has now."

"Blaze might have got away with a lot of Morph-X, but right now, I think we've got a pretty good thing going." Zoey stated. "And a pretty good team."

Just then, an announcement came across the announce system.

"Custodial team to the third-floor men's bathroom." The announcement came. "Flooding on the third-floor men's bathroom."

Commander Shaw just looked to Devon, who just smiled as he saw this.

"Good one Commander." He chuckled, before looking to the others, who were all struggling not to laugh. He looked back to Commander Shaw, who was just staring at him with a completely serious expression on her face. "Wait…you…you expect me to…?"

"Well, you are the janitor." Ravi reminded him, a little snigger escaping as he said this.

"Yeah, but…that's just a token job. They don't actually expect us to do it, right?" He asked, looking around. "Right?"

"They're a cover, but they are our real jobs. We're just seconded as Rangers when we're needed." Zoey explained to him as he started to look a little worried. "You don't think all those clean uniforms just magically appear out of thin air, do you?"

"And someone has to make sure all those cadets know what they're doing in training." Ravi said with a shrug.

"You're…you're joking right?" He asked, the desperation becoming evident in his voice. "Right?"

Ravi went to a cupboard, getting a mop and bucket, handing them to Devon before patting him on the shoulder.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"Oh, and today was chilli day in the cafeteria." Zoey said as she handed him a plunger. "So…have fun with that."

As they all walked out of the room, heading back to their duties, Devon just looked to the supplies in his hands. He considered for a moment the horror show that was probably waiting for him in the men's bathroom. However, as he headed off, he couldn't help smiling. His life was like a videogame. Some amazing friends, incredible powers, some cool new weapons and vehicles, and the kind of adventure even the best of his favourite games developers could never even begin to imagine creating. If this was the price he had to pay for it, then how could he really complain?

Fin.


End file.
